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Vintage:

2018

2018-C Las Estelas Alto de las Piedras Malbec, Tupungato, Mendoza, Argentina (750ml)   

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A Monthly Wine Club Selection
In 1940, Argentine Dr. Hector Perinetti acted on a longing to reconnect with his family’s wine roots in Piedmont, Italy. He bought land in the high reaches of Tupungato, the northernmost section of Mendoza’s Uco Valley, which he planted to Sémillon, thus founding Finca Mangato. Years later, his son, Dr. Hector Perinetti Jr., at the urging of his wife (also from a winemaking family) planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and, at its pinnacle—more than 4,200 feet above sea level—Malbec.

Today, third generation winemaker Estela Perinetti uses her family’s 28 hectares of vineyards for her own wine label: Las Estelas. The name honors 3 generations - her mother, Maria Estela Armando, her grandmother, Fortunata Stella, and of course Estela herself. Perinetti’s winemaking acumen spans the globe and includes over 20 years’ experience working for the renowned families of Barons de Rothschild and the Catenas, leading (among others) the Escorihuela, Bodegas Caro, La Posta and Luca projects. “I came to the wine world through heritage, but also through love,” she says. “The culture and complexities of wine caught me early on. Why I decided to start Las Estelas is simple. Having worked many terroirs around the world, and having made wines from innumerable vineyards throughout Mendoza, it was time to dedicate myself to my own vineyard in my preferred terroir, that of El Peral (the ‘pear tree’) in Tupungato.”

Estela chose the stoniest and highest plots to produce this complex wine. The grapes were fully de-stemmed and crushed. A 3-day cold maceration preceded fermentation in stainless-steel tanks. The must saw an extended maceration before being carefully pressed. The resulting wine was aged for 10 months in a combination of 20% new French oak, 60% second used barrels and 20% stainless steel.

Opaque, dark plum robe with ruby rim. Enticing aromas of dark and blue fruits mingled with gravely earthiness. The palate is bursting with ripe blackberry, blueberry, cassis and plum skin. Sophisticated with ample acid, finely polished tannin and a gracefully tapering finish.

Vintage:

2018