Grapes: Criolla Chica (aka Listán Prieto, aka País), Criolla Grande, Cereza, Canela, Moscatel Tinto.
Region: Barreal, Valle de Calingasta, Argentina
Vintage: 2024
Viticulture: Organic
Soil Type: Quartz rich colluvium
Vinification: The grapes were harvested by hand in 15kg baskets. The Criolla Chica was left whole cluster, while the other varieties were 70-75% destemmed. All of the grapes were crushed by foot and macerated on the skins for the duration of fermentation (14-21 days) without temperature control in concrete vessels before they were gently pressed with a 200kg vertical screw press, then rested for seven months in concrete before bottling
Aging: 7 months
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: None added
Notes from the Importer: Francisco (Pancho) Bugallo and Nuria Añó Gargiulo, the couple behind El Montañista, started farming vines and making wine in Argentina's Calingasta Valley in 2011, fresh out of university. Pancho had studied Agricultural Engineering in Mendoza, and Nuria industrial design. Their first project, Cara Sur, started at the same time. 10 years on, in 2021, the opportunity to farm and make wine from a very special vineyard of 80+ year-old heritage varieties - Paraje Hilario - prompted them to start El Montañista.
The Calingasta Valley sits in the foothills of the Andes. Very dry, cool, and remote, it has a long history of grape growing. At 1500 meters above sea level and in the rain shadow of the Andes, the bright sun and arid climate suit grapes well, limiting disease pressure and allowing for complete ripening despite the cooler temperatures.
Paraje Hilario is an almost unique snapshot of the valley's viticultural history. Farmed organically, grazed and fertilized by sheep, and trained in the parral system, it is a place out of time. The vines are still fed by the ancient acequia irrigation ditches, which carry water down from the glaciers of the high Andes. The vineyard's varieties - ancient colonial-period Spanish arrivals (Criolla Chica, a.k.a. Listán Prieto and Moscatel of Alexandria) and their offspring (Torrontes and others) are joined by old Piemonte grapes brought by waves of immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries (Bonarda, Freisa, and more).
Pancho and Nuria work simply in their cellar, working with concrete vessels, spontaneous fermentations, and without temperature controls. The results are delicate and poised wines that express the long history of vine growing and winemaking in the Calingasta Valley, and the precipitous elevations that differentiate the area.
