Attractive scents of violets, blackcurrants, plums and smoke are intertwined and sensual. The palate is medium plus in weight with wonderful damson plums, black cherries and black cap raspberry fruits that taste macerated with baking spices and joined by smoky notes and dark chocolate. This is not at all heavy -- it has just-right richness and some minerality and juicy acidity to keep the ripe dark fruits in check. 

WINE INFORMATION

The Mendoza wine region of Argentina has all of the ingredients necessary to make fine wines.  Located between 2000 and 4700 feet above sea level, the vines receive a high amount of sunlight along with relatively cool air temperatures.  These conditions result in increased water stress and thus ideal tannin maturity at harvest.  The growing area of Mendoza receives less than 10 inches of water per year, but benefits from the availability of controlled irrigation water from year round snow melt in the Andes.  Soils vary, but are predominantly loamy and drainage is excellent.  Most soils are low in organic material which adds to desirable vine stress.  As an added bonus from high altitude and desert like conditions, vineyards rarely face the pests and diseases other countries must manage.  Thus, herbicides and pesticides are only occasionally necessary and can therefore be used sparingly.  Mendoza grapes have the longest “hang-time” in the world and thus allows for the best development of both fruit flavors and smooth tannins.

Established in 1998, Alta Vista is a French family-owned winery that focuses on the production of high altitude, site-specific wines. The family’s winemaking knowledge and passion, together with its former ownership of the famous champagne house Piper-Heidsieck, provided the impetus to create a harmonious French-Argentine fusion. Years of research brought them to the top growing regions of Mendoza, an area best suited for the creation of terroir-expression wines. Alta Vista became the first Argentinean winery to produce single vineyard Malbec wines.

Grapes are harvested at optimum ripeness. Clusters are destemmed and fermentation vats are filled with the vintage: grape must, skin and berries. A percentage of the wine goes through a pre-fermentation cold maceration in order to extract fresh fruit aromas while the rest is fermented at higher temperatures to get body and structure. Half the wine is aged for 12 months in 100% French oak barrels, followed by an additional 4 months aging in bottle prior to release from the winery.

Duck, Grilled preparations, Hearty stew, Lamb, Mexican, Mushrooms, Red Meat, Roasted Root Vegetables, Sausage, Slow-smoked Barbeque/BBQ Sauce, Wild Game