Tilia Merlot 2011
Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
Sustainability pioneers, Tilia Wines were the first to carry the certified sustainable seal from Bodegas de Argentina on the label.
Today, Tilia is the first wine label to illustrate the path toward sustainability in Argentina. Through powerful symbols, the label highlights Tilia’s core values and represents programs implemented by Tilia to practice both environmental and social sustainability. People enrich the land at Tilia, and Tilia enriches the land of its people. With a focus on social sustainability, Tilia supports it community with an array of programs to ensure that everyone thrives as one.
Tilia’s roots, like its traditions, are robust and deep. They descend far into the soil to access glacial water from the ancestral irrigation canals. The winery thrives on biodiversity, preserving and nurturing plants, insects, and animals so that its vineyards can adapt to a changing environment. There is a natural resilience at Tilia, and a reverence for traditional farming practices that has shielded their ungrafted vineyards from interventions, sustaining the land for generations to come. Everyone is stronger together at Tilia, and the wines reflect its values: honor tradition, support the community, and respect nature.
Gonzalo Llensa, Tilia’s Winemaker, believes his love for the vineyard started when he grew tomatoes, peppers, and squash in his grandmother’s orchard. He is constantly looking to repurpose resources, save water, and turn off lights – a trait he got from his father, a professional electrician. Every weekend, Gonzalo walks seven blocks to his family home for a day-long asado and dreams of one day taking over the grill from his father.
Guillermina Van Houten, Tilia Sustainability Vineyard Specialist, has always been fascinated by nature and understanding how it works. Born a scientist at heart, her focus is to care for the grape and its environment as a whole to create the best wines. Her passion for sustainability was awakened while studying in France. What inspires Guillermina about winemaking is the fact that a piece of Mendoza’s land is able to travel to the farthest parts of the world in a bottle of wine.
By far the largest and best-known winemaking province in Argentina, Mendoza is responsible for over 70% of the country’s enological output. Set in the eastern foothills of the Andes Mountains, the climate is dry and continental, presenting relatively few challenges for viticulturists during the growing season. Mendoza, divided into several distinctive sub-regions, including Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, is the source of some of the country’s finest wines.
For many wine lovers, Mendoza is practically synonymous with Malbec. Originally a Bordelaise variety brought to Argentina by the French in the mid-1800s, here it found success and renown that it never knew in its homeland where a finicky climate gives mixed results. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Pinot Noir are all widely planted here as well (and sometimes even blended with each other or Malbec). Mendoza's main white varieties include Chardonnay, Torrontés, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.
With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.