The Apuntes wine line is expanded with a Petit Verdot made in the Canota Valley
Apuntes, Luigi Bosca’s wine line that pays tribute to the findings captured in Mr. Alberto Arizu’s notebooks, welcomes a new member to its family: Apuntes Petit Verdot.
This wine is the result of unique and unrepeatable findings in moments of inspiration and experimentation: in this case, the Petit Verdot variety born in the Canota Valley, a terroir that everyone is talking about today. This new wine-producing region that has recently aroused the interest of Argentine wine cellar owners, winemakers and lovers is located just 20 kilometres north of the provincial capital, in the Las Heras Department. This valley, which is currently proving to have huge potential for the production of very different wines, stretches alongside Villavicencio Natural Reserve, located between the pre-Andean mountain range and Sierra de las Higueras.
But what is it that makes the Canota Valley such an interesting place to make peculiar wines? First, its soil, a key element for each great terroir. Although its soil profile is characterised by the lack of pebbles (typical of other regions of Mendoza), it especially stands out for the presence of colluvial material, its different-sized stones with edged surfaces and the dark shading in the sector that is exposed to the sun.
Second, another interesting aspect of this terroir is its microclimate: the Canota Valley is a warm and temperate area in Mendoza, on the one hand, due to its altitude (between 950 and 1200 meters), and, on the other, for its geographical features, as this is a valley surrounded by hills, which leads to increased airflow, thus helping improve the vines’ health and naturally preserve them.
In this terroir, cold air masses move and circulate in winter and spring, evacuating cold temperatures to other regions and thus avoiding early frosts that cause severe damage to crops. In summer, this airflow at night lowers temperatures, thus generating greater thermal amplitude in the vine’s ripening period, which is reflected in fruits with increased levels of polyphenols. This, in turn, translates into more intensely coloured wines with marked tannins.
But what is it that makes the Canota Valley such an interesting place to make peculiar wines?
In this terroir, cold air masses move and circulate in winter and spring, evacuating cold temperatures to other regions and thus avoiding early frosts that cause severe damage to crops. In summer, this airflow at night lowers temperatures, thus generating greater thermal amplitude in the vine’s ripening period, which is reflected in fruits with increased levels of polyphenols. This, in turn, translates into more intensely coloured wines with marked tannins.
Furthermore, as this area is warmer than other wine-producing regions of Mendoza, plants sprout earlier and the vine’s ripeness cycle comes ahead of time in the Canota Valley, which ensures the excellent maturation of long life cycle varieties, such as Petit Verdot. Generally speaking, the wines born in the Canota Valley are characterised by their great colour intensity, an excellent tannic structure, marked acidity and great aromatic persistence.
For its part, so far, Petit Verdot has been scarcely explored in Argentina: only a few wines are made from this vine, and all of them are premium beverages. This is a variety exclusively made for those who know what they want from a wine, as its reds are full-bodied, substantial, pleasant, and fully embrace the palate.
The combination of these two worlds gives rise to Apuntes Petit Verdot 2021, a deep red wine with violet shades, whose aromas are reminiscent of red and black fruits, such as cherry, blackcurrant and plum. Voluminous in the mouth, with notes of fresh fruit, excellent balance and very pleasant and textured tannins. This is a robust, deep wine with a lingering finish, very different from those made in other regions of the province, both in terms of the varietal stamp and the genuine and original personality of its terroir.
