Tapiz Alta Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
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This is a dark, rich, modern Cabernet. The nose oozes sweet aromas of coconut and vanilla along with creamy oak and blackberry. The palate is full and chunky in feel, with dark-fruit flavors accented by molasses and pepper. A chewy finish shows grip and lasting acidity.
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The Tapiz Winery, located in the San Pablo I.G. in Mendoza’s Uco Valley, has one of the highest vineyards in Mendoza at 4,600 feet above sea level. Under the ownership and vision of Patricia Ortiz, Tapiz is a pioneer in the region and helped develop San Pablo into one of Argentina’s most renowned IGs. The state-of-the art winery is located in the heart of the estate vineyards, at the foothills of the Andes Mountains.
The highly rated wines of Tapiz are made by the celebrated winemaking team of Fabian Valenzuela and famed Bordeaux winemaker Jean Claude Berrouet (winemaker of Petrus for 44 vintages). Their wines are a beautiful tapiz (tapestry) of terroir and innovation. Benefiting from the extremes of altitude, temperature, and soil heterogeneity, Fabian and Jean Claude are able to create wines that are full-bodied and concentrated, yet elegant and balanced.
Patricia Ortiz, an avid art collector and former nephrologist, has imparted the need to strive for both artistic and scientific excellence in winemaking. To that end her Zolo winery (Agrelo, Mendoza) and Tapiz winery (San Pablo, Uco Valley) are staffed with some of Argentina’s most passionate and successful wine professionals and the most state-of-the-art technology. Patricia has focused her efforts on creating sustainable winemaking. In addition to hiring one of Argentina's top winemakers (Fabian Valenzuela) and vineyard managers (Carlos Correas), Patricia also brought on Jean Claude Berrouet as consulting winemaker.
Her Zolo and Tapiz wines are two of the top selling and critically-acclaimed Argentine brands in the U.S. and each include Top 100 Wines of the Year. In 2022, Patricia won the La Nación's Women to the World prize. La Nación, Argentina's most important newspaper, chose Patricia for her groundbreaking work as a successful woman leader of the wine industry. Patricia is the owner and President of three wineries (Tapiz, Zolo, and Wapisa) and nine sustainably-farmed vineyards in different parts of Argentina and is the first female president of Bodegas de Argentina, the industry trade group. Patricia, who lived many years in the U.S. and speaks fluent English, is one of Mendoza’s top ambassadors to the world. In 2019 she became the first female President of Bodegas de Argentina and in 2023 she was nominated by Wine Enthusiast as Executive of the Year.
Argentina of course is heralded for its Malbecs. But in the last two decades Cabernet Sauvignon has been drawing increased attention from winemakers there, and is now the third most planted variety. It is grown in the Mendoza region in the Andean foothills, especially in Maipú and Luján de Cuyo, at altitudes between 2300 and 3100 feet. Here the climate is continental, with hot summers and cold winters. It is very dry and sometimes quite windy, with runoff from the snow-capped Andes providing irrigation. These Argentinian Cabernets offer dark fruit, spice notes, full body and often a voluptuous style.
Another source within Mendoza is the higher altitude Uco Valley, at 3300 to 5000 feet. Up at this level grapes ripen more slowly, despite the bright sun. But that enables them to develop bright acidity levels, giving the wines a fresh quality to go with intense fruit flavors. Another source of good Cabernet Sauvignon in Argentina is Cafayate, in the Calchaquí Valley. North of Mendoza, these vineyards are even higher, at about 5700 feet! These Cabernets carry notes of spice, herbs and menthol to go with dark fruit. Like those from Uco Valley, they show concentration and great vibrancy.
A few producers to look for are Catena, Viña Cobos, Pulenta and Altocedro. Salud!