Altos Las Hormigas Blanco Mendoza 2024 750ml

In 1995 Alberto Antonini, a well-known Tuscan winemaker, and Antonio Morescalchi, a young entrepreneur, took a trip to visit the burgeoning wine areas of South America. It only took one stop to find what they were looking for. They were immediately impressed by the vineyards thriving in the high altitude and dry climate of Mendoza, and were captivated by the whispered traditions and blend of cultures. They returned to Tuscany powerfully impressed not only by the region, but also by the unexplored potential of Malbec, a grape that had a strong local tradition but was largely ignored and misunderstood. While the rest of the wine world saw Mendoza struggling to shed its bulk wine image, the two young Italians saw Mendoza as a place where traditional viticultural values and unblemished land could be reinvigorated with a modern winemaking approach and international experience. Instead of planting Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, as many others were doing during the 1990s, the team decided to invest their confidence in Malbec. Today, Malbec is the varietal for which Argentina is best known. Against all odds they cemented their vision to become Terroir Specialists Shortly after, two friends and business partners, also enthused by the idea, joined the venture: Attilio Pagli, a renowned Tuscan winemaker with two 100 point-scoring wines in his personal record and Carlos Vazquez, an Argentine Agronomist, who work for 20 years with the early Catena group, planting new varieties, developing previously unknown vineyard sites and contributing greatly to the qualitative change of Argentine viticulture early on. They purchased 206 hectares (530 acres) in the rural township of Lujan de Cuyo for the future Estate of Altos Las Hormigas. When the vineyards were planted in 1996 workers faced a stiff altercation with the local ant colonies. The ants loved to feed on the tender sprouts of our newly-planted young vines, often reducing months of man labor to nothing, all in a single night. The workers refused to poison the ants and started looking for natural ways to deflect their attention. During this time they commented that the ants were the “real” owners of the place and seemed to cover enormous ground and accomplish great tasks despite their miniscule size. In Argentina we have a saying: “un trabajo de hormigas” or “a job for ants” which describes a humble, patient, and dedicated work. We decided to name our venture after the hard-working, team-playing hormiga, which is emblematic of our history and has become a symbol of good luck.