Terrazas signs up for Fine Wine Fair

The latest exhibitor to sign up to the inaugural Fine Wine Fair – run by the drinks business – is Argentine winery Terrazas de los Andes.

The upmarket operation, owned and established by Moët & Chandon, is famed for its high altitude vineyards in Mendoza, as well as its Cheval des Andes joint venture with Cheval Blanc president Pierre Lurton.

Today, the wines of Terrazas stand out for their “elegant power” according to Cathryn Stockdale, brand manager for Estates & Wines at Moët-Hennessy.

“Power,” she says, “is achieved through aromatic and mouthfeel precision, rather than any massive harsh concentration or high alcohol content.”

Consistent quality is ensured using the best vineyards of Mendoza, including, high altitude plots in Vistalba, Altamira and La Consulta.

In particular, varietals have been carefully matched to each altitude, with Chardonnay planted at 3,900ft; Malbec at 3,500ft, and Cabernet Sauvignon at 3,200ft.

Then there’s the flagship Cheval des Andes – a Bordeaux “first growth” from Argentina – which was inspired by Cheval Blanc president Pierre Lurton’s hunt for the Right Bank estate’s lost Malbec.

Phylloxera had devastated St Emilion’s vineyards, once covered with Malbec, and replanting after the root-feeding aphid’s appearance in the 1860s was mostly with Merlot – Malbec didn’t take to grafting.

Lurton’s search in the late ’90s for a touch of St Emilion’s history took him outside France and eventually to Argentina, where he discovered ungrafted Malbec, in particular, the 76-year-old Las Compuertas Vineyard in Vistalba, Mendoza.

Hence in 1999, a joint venture between Mendoza’s Terrazas de los Andes winery and Bordeaux’s Cheval Blanc was born.

The first commercial release of Cheval des Andes was 2001, although wines were made in 1999 and 2000.

For more on the Terrazas range visit www.terrazasdelosandes.com

For more on the drinks business Fine Wine Fair visit www.finewinefair.org

Patrick Schmitt, 22.07.2010