Cholila Ranch Malbec - 2020

Named for the former Ranch owned by Butch Cassidy and the sundance Kid.

Cholila Ranch Malbec is made from 100% Malbec. The estate-grown grapes are manually harvested, carefully sorted, and destemmed. The wine undergoes traditional maceration for 21 days with selected yeasts. Cholila Ranch Malbec is aged both in American and French oak for 9 months, followed by a minimum of 6 months bottle aging prior to release.

Deep purple color. Aromas of ripe plum and mulberry with violet hints. Ripe black fruits and fig on the palate with touches of smoke and vanilla. A truly powerful yet balanced wine with a persistent finish.

 Color: Deep ruby red with violet hints
 Nose: Complex and intense, features black berries, cherries and plum, with delicate floral notes and spices.
 Mouth: Balanced and fresh, full bodied with good length of spices.

 Review:

"A cellar selection coming from a vineyard that sits 3,200 feet above sea level, the 2020 Malbec Ayni Paraje Altamira sports a deep purple hue as well as gorgeous aromatics of ripe black and blue fruits, savory herbs, graphite, and hints of tobacco. It's ripe, powerful, full-bodied, and opulent, with a silky, seamless mouthfeel and beautiful overall length. This fruit-loaded, sexy, powerful effort will drink well for at least 7-8 years."

- Jeb Dunnuck (Importer Highlight: Fran Kysela ; July 2024), 95 pts

This vineyard is situated at over 3,000 feet in altitude in Valle de Uco, and the vines are over seventy years old. This light soil is sandy with some silt, is very permeable and has boulders and a broken layer of limestone at a depth of 2.5 feet. Traditional irrigation is fed by water from the Andes Mountains. Temis has the coldest climate of all Alta Vista’s terroirs. Nights are quite cool and days are warm and soft, with constant breezes that help to keep the vines and grapes healthy. The grapes have a slow, gradual cycle of ripeness that is balanced and ideal. Planted in 1942, the selection massale vines are characterized by small clusters with small, compact grapes.

Review:

There’s a touch of bark, grilled Mediterranean spice savoriness to the rich but fresh blackberries, salted black plums and graphite notes. Pretty saline and flavorful on the palate. The tannins are powerful yet fine-grained. A structured and characterful malbec from old vines in El Cepillo.

-James Suckling 94 Points

This wine is floral, exuberant, with lengthy smooth tannins, and metallic notes.

This cuvée takes its name from a small parcel of the Adrianna Vineyard that is completely covered with oval white stones and was the site of an ancient riverbed. The abundant stones provide optimal drainage and extreme temperatures. They absorb heat and moderate the nights, but also function like ice cubes after a very cold night. Stony soil Malbecs tend to be extremely aromatic, rich and luxurious, just like the River Malbec from Adrianna. This wine can be enjoyed young or aged for decades.

Pair with grilled meats.

Review:

Wild blackberries, pine cones, bark, chili chocolate, cracked pepper, cloves, iodine and crushed stones on the nose. Full-bodied with firm, creamy tannins. Lovely coolness and minerality to the dark fruit. Powerful, too. Try in 2026.

-James Suckling 98 Points

Flaunt Pinot Noir Peake Ranch Vineyard Santa Rita Hills is made from 100% Pinot Noir.

Review:

"A light shade of ruby in the glass, this single-vineyard expression pops on the nose with fresh Bing cherry, strawberry, curry leaf and carnation aromas. The palate is very zesty as well, with a taut texture that presents flavors of smashed currant, melon rind, crunchy sage and wild thyme. - MATT KETTMANN"

- Wine Enthusiast (April 2022), 94 pts

4 Gatos Locos Malbec is made from 100% Malbec.

4 gatos locos is a project created by Gabriel Bloise, Facundo Bonamaizon, Mariana and Juan Pelizzatti, winemaker, viticulturist and founders of Chakana (respectively), and it is based on a 20 ha vineyard in Alto Gualtallary, the most prominent growing region in Argentina.
 
The vineyard is located at 1360 mts a.s.l on a 10% slope on the Sierra del Jaboncillo, a relatively old geological formation near the alluvial fan of the Las Tunas river, in the Tupungato area, in north western Valle de Uco. The long exposure to arid conditions of calcium rich gravel has allowed microbes to develop one of the areas richest in calcium carbonate in Mendoza. The altitude, the slope, the gravel and the calcium carbonate create unique deep, textured wines which have become distinctive of this area. Moderate high temperatures controlled by high altitude in sunny conditions produce perfectly ripe grapes of unusually intense color and great vitality, balanced by the mineral freshness of calcium carbonate. Local aromátic plants naturally occurring in native vegetation areas interspersed in the vineyard give the wine a unique herbal touch that underline the character of the place.
 
4 Gatos locos is packaged with 4 different labels, reflecting the different personalities of the partners in this project. In an industry dominated by narcissistic efforts of self promotion and luxury, 4 gatos locos (a popular frase in argentina to represent “nobodies”) represents an authentic collective effort to develop outstanding wine that captures the personality and the potential of a place, which we strongly believe it is the best Mendoza has to offer.

Residual sugar: <1,8 g/lPh: 3,8
Acidity: 5,7 g/l
Aged in new french oak 500 liter barrels and 5000 liter foudre for 18 months. Then aged for 12 months in bottle.
Fermented with natural yeast, macerated for 28 days.