Gold medal for Porvenir

At the end of February the fifth edition of the Argentina Wine Awards (AWA), a competition organized by Wines of Argentina together with the Corporación Vitivinícola Argentina (COVIAR), took place. More than 700 samples were entered in the competition, in which internationally recognized sommeliers sung the praises of the wines presented. Our iconic wine PORVENIR 2005, in its very first year and of which only 10,000 bottles were made, won a Gold Medal. It is a blend of four varietals: Malbec, Cabernet, Tannat and Syrah, and will only be made in the best years. The grapes come from special parcels where they are meticulously cared for during the entire year. It spends 18 months in new French oak barrels and is then stored in bottle for 3 years until its release.

2011 Harvest

On March 9 we began the 2011 harvest, which promises to be a truly great year. This growing season had cooler days, which allowed the red varietals to ripen more gradually and slowly, with a great balance between the sugars’ ripeness and the polyphenolic ripeness. This will result in balanced wines with remarkable concentration and aromatic complexity.

At the same time, the white varietals better preserved their delicate fruity and floral aromas, helped by the relatively low temperatures registered this year. We are positive that this will be a vintage to remember.

In one of his regular visits to Cafayate, in February, our consulting winemaker Paul Hobbs performed a detailed observation of the evolution of the ripeness of the grapes and participated in the selection of the best cuartels of grapes, which will be used for making the winery’s premium wines.

During his weeklong visit Paul also visited the winery with the goal of evaluating the wines in process of being made with winemaker Mariano Quiroga.

"I am surprised by the quality obtained in the red grapes in general from the vineyards of Porvenir. This year I observed thicker skins, very good color and very healthy grapes, as we had no cases of dehydration because it was a cloudier year. We hope that the quality and concentration obtained in the grapes is reflected in the finished wines of this vintage.”

This month we will release the new vintage of our wines under the premium line LABORUM. LABORUM: "of our work" represents the work that the entire winery team performs during the process of making a high quality wine.

Just under 20,000 bottles of LABORUM Malbec 2007 were made. The grapes were picked in the second two weeks of February 2007, and then the wine spent 12 months in new oak barrels (70% French and 30% American). It has an intense ruby red color with violet tinges. On the nose the aromas of plum stand out, along with floral violet notes combined with hints of oak. On the palate it has an intense entry, medium-to-high structure, balanced acidity and sweet tannins.

We made 7,172 bottles of LABORUM Tannat 2007. The grapes come from old vines (45 years old) and were harvested in the second two weeks of March 2007. The wine spent 12 months in new French (50%) and American (50%) oak barrels.

It has an intense ruby red color with black and violet tones. On the nose it gives red fruit aromas with notes of spices, chocolate and a eucalyptus profile. Also perceptible are smoky and toasty hints from the oak. On the palate it has an intense entry, high structure and balanced acidity. It is a robust wine, with firm, sweet tannins.

We are pleased to introduce Mariano Quiroga Adamo, the winery’s new winemaker as of 6 months ago, who will make the 2011 vintage with the help of consulting winemaker Paul Hobbs.

Mariano is one of the most promising young winemakers of fine wines in Argentina. He graduated in Oenology from the Facultad de Enología y Agroindustrias, Universidad Juan A. Maza. He has a postgraduate degree in Oenology, and vast experience gained during his stages in two of the most important wineries in Argentina, part of the LVMH Chandon S.A. and Catena Zapata groups.

Email: mquiroga@bodegaselporvenir.com