ARGENTINA VINTAGE GUIDE

Click on each vintage to see what we currently have in stock on our main website:

  • 2021 - Regions across the country forecast excellent results from the second vintage of the pandemic era, despite severe labor shortages. A cooler vintage in most areas offers freshness and balance. October frost and rain throughout the summer pushed back the harvest for white grapes, and extra cloud cover slowed maturation of red grapes, preserving fruit, acidity and the potential for lower alcohol levels. 

  • 2020 - Despite the challenges of a world-wide pandemic, the vintage was of extraordinary high quality. High temperatures across all regions meant harvest was two to five weeks earlier than usual, which proved to be a stroke of good luck as most all the grapes were in before the most stringent pandemic protocols were enacted. Despite the summer heat, wines maintained good acidity as well as exceptional color and freshness.

  • 2019 - A cool spring season in the Argentine vintage of 2019 resulted in lower crop yields, but the fruit harvested was generally quite good. Warmer weather in January helped with ripening and cooler-than-average temperatures from February through April provided a long window for harvesting. This is an excellent vintage for white wines in particular. Good tannin concentrations in red grapes indicate this will be a vintage that will reward cellaring. The Uco Valley avoided frost, so yields there are back to normal levels.

  • 2018 - In 2018 Argentina recovered from two short vintages with a year that was nearly ideal. Weather was mostly cooperative (with the exception of frosts in Uco Valley) and the overall impression is of a very solid vintage. Luis Gutiérrez of Wine Advocate writes, "The young 2018 reds generally show good natural acidity, clear vineyard expression and smooth tannins, while the whites are aromatic, brisk and mostly medium-bodied, not far off in style from the ‘17s."

  • 2017 - A widespread spring frost slashed grape yields, and Malbec production in particular saw a markedly reduced volume. But fortunately the 2017 vintage saw weather conditions return to normal after a cold and wet 2016, so quality of the reduced 2017 crop is generally high with good flavor concentration. Favorably mild temperatures during harvest rendered wines with fine acidity and moderate alcohol. Growing conditions were classic in the greater Mendoza region. The 2017 Argentine vintage is also one to note some particular success with Pinot Noir.

  • 2016 - A cool, wet vintage with significant occurrences of rain and hail, yields were severely affected by rot and mildew in Mendoza and its sub-zones. Still, diligent growers managed the challenges and the resulting wines are some of the freshest wines the region has ever produced. Gualtallary seems to have faired the best. Further south in Patagonia, spring and summer were warm and relatively dry with cool weather showing up at harvest time. Producers there are very happy with the wines overall.

  • 2015 - Throughout Mendoza, early bud break and a warmer than average season were capped off by a harvest that saw no real relief from the heat and the added strain of high humidity and rains. Successful growers were able to manage rot and mildew through vigorous culling of fruit. Early ripening varietals are the real successes in this most difficult of vintages. 

 

  • 2014 - The first in a string of three consecutive wetter than average growing seasons, 2014 in Mendoza also saw the coolest harvest since 2001, making rot and mildew a problem for vineyards at lower elevations. Higher elevation sites were largely spared the disease pressure, but still struggled to ripen in the exceedingly cool temps. Yields were further affected by a severe spring frost. The best Malbec producers with premier high-altitude sites will still have turned out remarkably fresh and vibrant wines, but late-ripening varietals (especially Cabernet Sauvignon) were almost universally affected by the weather.

 

  • 2013 - 2013 was the type of vintage that can redefine a wine region's style in the best of ways. A cool yet very dry growing season, it provided the chance for Mendoza producers to maximize hang-time and achieve ideal ripeness without sacrificing balance. The resulting wines are some of the most elegantly structured, vibrant, and stylishly delineated wines in recent memory for Argentina. Moderate alcohol, stunning aromatics, and sound acidity should make 2013 a sure fire success for both collectors and everyday wine drinkers.

 

  • 2012 - Growers in Mendoza came under immediate pressure in 2012 as a late spring frost and the hot Zonda winds decimated yields at flowering. Only the late-blossoming Cabernet vines were spared. The season continued with hot temperatures, foreshadowing an early harvest, but March brought clouds and cool temps through the end of the season. Extended hang-time meant sound ripeness, but dramatically lower yields resulted in powerfully concentrated reds, especially the later-ripening Bordeaux varietals.  Unusually high summer rainfall plagued both Salta in the north and Patagonia in the far south.

 

 

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