Bodegas Bianchi presents the new vintages of its icon wines. These are wines with history, production time and dedication, which combine the qualities of their two terroirs, Valle de Uco and San Rafael, with the knowledge of the oenology team led by Silvio Alberto and the experience of the Bianchi family that celebrates this year its 95 vintages.

The letter of presentation of these wines is none other than being authentic exponents of their terroir, wines with identity and trajectory, which are the heritage of Argentine wine culture.

“In retrospect, the arrival in Valle de Uco, one of the most important high-quality grape-producing areas in the world, allowed us to enhance our offer of high-end wines,” says Rafael Calderon, general manager of the group of wineries. “Thanks to the state-of-the-art technology and precision viticulture of the Enzo Bianchi Winery, we managed to unify the production of all the icon wines of our portfolio in this location, either using our own grapes from the Los Chacayes area or moving them from our farms in San Rafael”.

From the new winery, the family’s most precious labels are carefully produced. One of them is the renowned Enzo Bianchi: a wine that is the winery’s flagship, made since 1994 as a tribute to its winemaker mentor for more than 50 years.

In 2019 a new version of this iconic wine arrived: the Enzo Bianchi Gran Malbec 2017 vintage, the first great wine from the winery located in Los Chacayes. Today, 4 years later, Bianchi presents the 2020 vintage.

In the words of Chief Winemaker & Viticulture Silvio Alberto “this Malbec 2020 vintage constitutes a true “single vineyard & single parcel”, since it comes from a specific lot with a perfect polyphenolic maturation. The low natural productivity of this plot provides a crispy skin of great thickness, with very good aromatic expression.This is a wine of an intense red color with attractively violet nuances.The nose shows the characteristic descriptors of Malbec such as fresh red fruits, floral hints such as violets, slight spicy and mineral notes, perfectly amalgamated with hints of of chocolate and vanilla contributed by its aging in French oak.In the mouth, the sweet sensation stands out at the entrance giving way to a large center of mouth, with soft tannins.Great structure and complexity; silky, harmonious and with a very good acid balance Undoubtedly an iconic wine that perfectly expresses the qualities and attributes that Los Chacayes can offer.”

Enzo Bianchi Gran Malbec spends 12 months in French oak barrels. This 2020 vintage has only 10,529 750 ml bottles that have an aging potential of 20 years.

“This is a world-class wine that perfectly represents the quality standard that Argentina has to offer to the local public, and to demanding markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, among others” – completes Rafael Calderón.

It is presented at a price of $34,200. -in the most important wine bars or directly through the e-commerce store: www.bodegasbianchi.com.ar

With the vision that has characterized the family, from the new Enzo Bianchi Winery the most prestigious exponents of the winery are made with sustainability criteria: great wines, designed from the vineyard, with a focus on terroir and quality.

Along with this great Bianchi icon, only 10,440 bottles of the 2021 vintage of the high-end María Carmen Chardonnay ($17,100.-) hit the market. A wine made with grapes from Las Paredes, San Rafael, and which represents a tribute to the life partner of Don Enzo Bianchi, the winery’s senior winemaker.

This elegant and seductive wine obtained the highest rating in the Global Chardonnay Masters 2022, ranking among the 9 best Chardonnays in the world. In this way, it became the only Argentine wine to receive this coveted award in one of the most important competitions in the world, organized by The Drinks Business in London, and in which renowned Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers and senior buyers participate.

This wine remained for 12 months in first and second use French oak barrels, which gave notes of vanilla and honey to this complex wine, which stands out for its citrus and mineral notes blended with aromas of white fruits such as pear, green apples and white peaches. On the palate it has a very fresh entry, with very good acidity, refreshing, complex, unctuous, with a very good structure, and a long finish.

In the first line of the top of the range of Bodegas Bianchi are also the “Bianchi IV Generation” ($17,100.-). A line presented in 2021 and that expresses the perspective of the fourth generation of the Bianchi-Stradella Family, with wines created from their own vineyards in Los Chacayes, Valle de Uco.

The Gran Corte of the “Bianchi IV Generacion” line is a blend of red grapes made up of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot harvested from specially selected blocks to produce a few and very unique 5086 750 ml bottles. It is a wine of great aromatic intensity, with deep notes, where red and black fruits are mixed with hints of spices of thyme and black pepper, also highlighting that typical minerality of Los Chacayes. It is a complex and seductive wine, with great body and balance, where each of the varieties contributes its characteristic notes.

Alongside the iconic wines, there is the Particular line of premium varietals. The first Particular, a Cabernet Sauvignon, was launched on the market in 1976, but since 1967 it was already part of the family’s exclusive private cellar. In 2005, Valentín “Tincho” Bianchi presented this line of varietals, incorporating a Malbec and a Merlot. Today, the launch of this new vintage features a Malbec and a Merlot 2020 from San Rafael. ($8350.-)

A particularly intense Malbec that, when seen, stands out for its deep purple color with marked bluish nuances. Elegant and sensual, the first nose shows notes of black fruit, ripe plum and subtle hints of spices, the product of its aging in oak. Complex and fresh at the same time, this exceptional exponent has a sweet attack, friendly but present tannins and great structure and volume. Fleshy and elegant, it has a harmonious and persistent finish.

While the Merlot, of great lineage and complexity, is an intense red with very attractive violet reflections. Its nose offers spicy notes, and black and red fruits, such as blackberries, plums and currants. These are perfectly combined with a typical mineral character of Finca Asti and are assembled with the delicate expressions of vanilla and chocolate from its aging in French oak. On the palate it is a delicate wine with a very good body, present but silky and friendly tannins, which will surely allow this wine to be stored for several years.

“For us, the soul of wine resides in the fruit, and the wines that are part of our Winemaker’s Selection line will be true exponents of the best terroirs in Argentina. There are a handful of hidden and intact microterroirs, waiting to be discovered”, anticipates Silvio Alberto presenting his creation this year: a blend of Malbec and Cabernet Franc vintage 2020, originally from Gualtallary, in the Uco Valley.

Only 1,014 bottles of this blend born in lands of alluvial origin and poor in organic matter. An expressive and powerful wine, with notes of red fruit intermingled with spices and minerals that blend with hints of vanilla that its 12-month aging in French oak gives it. Very fresh, medium structure and elegant and juicy tannins, with a deliciously long finish.

Enzo Bianchi Gran Malbec 2020, María Carmen 2021 “Global Chardonnay Master”, IV Generation Gran Corte 2020, Particular Malbec and Merlot 2020, and the Sparkling Bianchi Premium 2016 and Stradivarius Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, are the wines that the winery is presenting to the market.

Among the wide variety of high-end labels offered by Bodegas Bianchi, its sparkling wines are highly appreciated by consumers looking for quality bubbles. These sparkling wines are made in their San Rafael winery, created in 1995 by Don Enzo Bianchi and which has become a model plant in South America. In the silence of the cellar, the oenology team gives rise to the few sparkling wines made in our country using the traditional method, with a second fermentation in the bottle.

Among them, a true jewel of the family stands out, the Stradivarius Cabernet Sauvignon vintage 2014 ($11,390.-), a sparkling wine with delicate and persistent bubbles, distinctive of the Champenoise method. This special consignment of 6,000 bottles seduces by its fine and delicate nose of tropical fruits, with marked notes of toasted nuts, given by its prolonged storage of 7 years in the bottle in contact with the fermentation yeasts. Undoubtedly, a sparkling wine destined to celebrate great moments.

Another sparkling wine, no less elegant, is the Bianchi Premium vintage 2016, also made using the traditional method, with a suggested price of $5,410.-.

From the Enzo Bianchi Winery in Valle de Uco, high-end specimens are made with local and San Rafael grapes that allow us to distinguish the different terroirs, marking the differences and showing the benefits of each place. It is a search to discover the identity of each of the terroirs where the Bianchi family is present, combining the knowledge acquired by the 4 generations over 95 years of experience in the world of wine.

Hermanos, the restaurant that the renowned Chef Christián Petersen has in Martínez, was the location chosen to present the range of iconic wines from the winery to the local press and special guests.

Regarding the proposal of dishes designed by the chef, which included lamb sweetbreads, meats with extreme marbling and just maturation, Petersen commented: “There is no doubt that we Argentines make very good wines and we know how to produce quality meats. Pairing both worlds is inevitable and wonderful at the same time. This menu was designed to accompany and enhance the qualities of these extraordinary wines from Bodegas Bianchi”.

About the Enzo Bianchi Winery

The new winery is made up of a 2,000 m2 building with a vessel capacity of 500,000 liters and for 400,000 bottles in stowage; an area of amphoras destined to continue innovating in the production of icon wines and a house for the reception of tourism.

Built in harmony with the natural environment, the winery reflects respect for the environment. The façade is covered with local stone, and its construction shows the essence of the link with the environment.

For the preparation, the winery has state-of-the-art technology. To which Bodegas Bianchi has put its innovative stamp, acquiring the latest technological development for the destemming of grapes -which added to a double selection belt- allows to achieve a remarkable quality of bunches and grains. It also has all the necessary technology to make its high-end wines through the use of “gravity”: small buckets receive the destemmed grapes and then vat them directly on the mouth of the tank. These tanks have a small capacity, in which the most important characteristics are their dimensions, a 1:1 ratio, perfect dimensions for the production of high-end red wines. In addition, the winery has a refrigerating chamber, used to place the grapes harvested during the day, to lower the field temperature and those that are processed the next day. A large refrigeration capacity allows carrying out oenological processes in the tanks aimed at achieving a greater expression of fruit and freshness in their wines. Finally, it has the latest technology in pressing, with the incorporation of a hydraulic press of French origin that will allow it to treat the pomace in a much more careful way. The winery also has a laboratory in which all the quality control analyzes of its wines are carried out. In this way, Bianchi has incorporated the latest technology into its new Valle Uco winery with the aim of continuing to create great wines, taking maximum care of each detail.

The vineyards of Valle de Uco

Los Chacayes (IG) is one of the best areas in Argentina to make outstanding wines due to several factors, including the amount of rocks in the alluvial soils that give the wines a very fresh style due to their mineral component and the expressive fruity notes. . The high altitude at the foot of the Andes Mountains, 1,100 meters above sea level, also provides good color, tannin maturation, wines with nerve and a unique personality. It is a challenging place due to the weather conditions, water management, and the manual harvest of grapes, which is done by selecting specific blocks from the vineyards to create exceptional wines.

The vineyards of Bodega Enzo Bianchi are located in the town of Vista Flores, in the prestigious area of Los Chacayes. This location brings, in addition to the outstanding quality of its soils, a unique thermal amplitude. The amount planted is 40.5 hectares. The varieties are Malbec, Viognier, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, among others. The vineyards are irrigated by a drip irrigation system, which ensures the perfect water balance.

It should also be noted that Vivero Mercier Argentina and Bodegas Bianchi established a cooperation agreement, which commits both companies to move together through a new stage of Argentine viticulture, marked by sustainability, quality and continuous innovation.

Thanks to this alliance, a project was launched that will allow them to grow, with a vision set on the technological development of the vineyards.

The vineyards of San Rafael

Bodegas Bianchi has 3 own estates, Asti, Doña Elsa and Las Paredes. These farms located in San Rafael receive pure water from the Diamante River and the breezes of a continental climate that set the exact rate of ripening of the grapes. Planted between 600 and 800 meters above sea level, the vineyards enjoy a pronounced thermal amplitude between day and night that favors the balanced and constant ripeness of the fruits.

Clay-sandy soils, made up of alluvial sediments, are rich in calcium and organic material. Likewise, the abundant snow of the mountain range allows a greater flow of healthy and crystalline irrigation water. All these factors favor optimal production of healthy vines of exceptional quality.