MARCELO BELMONTE FROM TRAPICHE ON THEIR TERROIR SERIES WINES

JamesSuckling.com Associate Editor Claire Nesbitt tasted some new releases from Trapiche, one of Argentina's largest and oldest wine brands, with Marcelo Belmonte over Zoom. Marcelo is the director of winemaking and viticulture at Trapiche and he called in from Mendoza to discuss the wines. They tasted two chardonnays and malbecs from Trapiche's Terroir Series, a project started in 2003. These are from single vineyards and aim to express specific terroir and microclimates, as well as the history and importance of the individual grape growers. Their 2020 chardonnays from Fina Las Piedras and El Tomillo are intense yet fresh, a result of three separate harvests at different ripeness levels to balance tropical, ripe fruit notes with acidity and elegance. The 2019 malbec from Finca Orellana, made from vines of more than 70 years old, shows beautiful dark fruit and intensity with silky tannins, in contrast to the more structured, firm and focused Finca Ambrosia, a malbec that has promising aging potential. They also tasted the very drinkable 2021 Oak Cask Malbec, a great value red at $10 a bottle.