Less and less French and more and more Argentine. The Malbec grape, beloved by Brazilians, became an exponent of “hermanos” and even received a kind of “rebaptism”.
Originally from Cahors, in southwestern France, the variety played a huge role in viticulture on the old continent, mainly in Bordeaux wines until the arrival of phylloxera, at the end of the 1850s.
The plague devastated four-fifths of all the world's wines and hit more sensitive and disease-prone varieties like Malbec. Therefore, suddenly there was a “disappearance” of vineyards with Malbec and an enormous difficulty in restarting the variety in France, as winegrowers feared further losses.
However, years before, the grape had already arrived in Argentina from the hands of the French agronomist Michel Aimé Pouget and had a fantastic adaptation in the dry, desert and high soil of Mendoza.
To give you an idea, France currently has only 5 thousand hectares dedicated to the production of Malbec, while the “hermanos” exceed 45 thousand. And the “rebaptism” took place in Luján de Cuyo, in 1991, a city that belongs to Mendoza and which gives its name to the first denomination of origin in Argentina.
DOC (as it is called) was the result of the work of Alberto Arizu, known as the “guardian of Argentine terroir” and one of the owners of the Luigi Bosca winery. During a visit to Brazil, Alberto Filho (fourth generation of the Arizu family), recognized the importance of phytosanitary and sustainable protocols in production, in addition to saying that the winery only managed to reach its current level after more than 120 years of selecting the best genetic clones from plant.
Alberto also highlighted that when visiting the winery it is possible to drink the “father of Argentine Malbecs”: the first label of the variety produced by the company in 1912.
“There have been people who have offered me whatever I want to buy this wine, but there is no money to pay. We used to only open bottles during celebrations, but with Coravin’s help it’s possible to do it more often,” she said.
The Luján de Cujo designation of origin is only 34 years old and is home to other major brands such as Catena Zapata, Susana Balbo, Cheval des Andes and Achaval Ferrer. The power of the terroir at altitudes of 800 to 1200 meters, combined with the warm and dry climate of the region, provide more and more elegant, round and intense Malbecs, ideal for pairing with barbecues and which make us able to count on our fingers the number of French grape varietals we've been drinking in recent years.
And I'm not even that big a fan of Malbec.
*The texts published by Insiders and Columnists do not necessarily reflect the opinion of CNN Viagem & Gastronomia.
About Stêvão Limana
Stêvão Limana is a journalist graduated from the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), with a postgraduate degree in oenology, a candidate for professional sommelier and a marathon runner in his spare time. On TV he talks about politics and elections, while on the internet he focuses on wine and gastronomy.
Source: CNN Brasil
Johanna Foster is an expert opinion writer with over 7 years of experience. She has a reputation for delivering insightful and thought-provoking articles on a variety of subjects. Her work can be found on some of the top online news websites, and she is currently lending her voice to the world stock market.
