Winemaker Notes
Cara Sur is bringing some of the oldest vines in Argentina back to the forefront. This bottling is 100% Criolla Chica (otherwise known as País in Chile, or Mission in California) from 80 year-old vines in San Juan.The grapes are partially destemmed and fermented in concrete before aging in large vats for eight months. Think of this wine like an Argentinian "pipeño" bright, pale, and dangerously easy to drink. On the nose are notes of rose petal, rooibos tea, and wild cherry, and the palate has just a hint of tannin, juicy cherry and cranberry, with a crisp, tart finish. Enjoy this with a slight chill.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Criolla was harvested the first week of March and fermented with foot-trodden 30% full clusters in concrete eggs with indigenous yeasts. The élevage was in egg and lasted some eight months. This is incredibly pale, paler than any other wine here; it looks like a rosé, and the wine is ethereal, floral and flinty. In 2020, the grapes from the La Totora vineyard were added here, as the wine was not produced on its own, so that could be one of the changes here. There was a very soft extraction, a long infusion with no movement of the skins. The palate is light, and there are some fine-grained tannins but none of the rusticity the grape is able to deliver. Superb. This is still very young and should develop nicely in bottle. 5,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2020.
Beyond the usual suspects, there are hundreds of red grape varieties grown throughout the world. Some are indigenous specialties capable of producing excellent single varietal wines, while others are better suited for use as blending grapes. Each has its own distinct viticultural characteristics, as well as aroma and flavor profiles, offering much to be discovered by the curious wine lover. In particular, Portugal and Italy are known for having a multitude of unique varieties but they can really be found in any region.
This very hot and arid region produces fine red wines from Bonarda, Syrah and Malbec and solid, fruity white wines from Pinot grigio, Viognier and Chardonnay.