When it pays to have friends in high places

Mendoza, the home of Argentine wine, is one of the more curious places that you’ll find a vineyard.

On the same latitude as the Sahara, it’s basically a big desert at the foothills of the Andes mountains.

They’ve only been making quality wine here for the past 30 years. So you need to go a little further back to understand how we got here.

There’s something in the water...

For centuries Mendoza served as a stopping point for travellers between two of South America’s most important cities, Santiago and Buenos Aires.

You needed to rest and refuel either side of taking on the Andes, a long and treacherous trek.

So the Incas built a clever system of drains that would take melted snow water from the mountains down to the valley of Mendoza, giving them the irrigation they needed to grow crops which would feed passing travellers and their animals.

This would pave the way, 600 years later, for the creation of world-class vineyards.

Getting it just right

In order to grow the best grapes, vines like a little bit of stress. They need water (but not too much).

Mendoza is high and dry - it rarely rains and it’s got poor, sandy soils that don’t retain water.

So with very little coming from the sky, the locals are able to give exactly the right amount of water that the vines need through irrigation.

But that’s not all - having vineyards at high altitude means...

• The sunlight is really intense, so the grapes ripen with serious colour and flavour
• The combination of hot days and cold nights gives the grapes balance and freshness, and extends the growing season to build intensity and complexity.
• It's heaven for making big reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and the most popular of them all - Malbec.

Now meet my good friend Mauricio

Mauricio Lorca is one of Argentina’s most talented and respected winemakers.

He started his career at the world-famous Catena winery, learning from the founding fathers of Argentine wine - Nicolas Catena, Paul Hobbs and José Galante. He then became head winemaker of Luigi Bosca at the ripe old age of 24.

For years he visited the world’s best vineyards as part of his job, which made him more and more convinced that Mendoza could be right up there with the world’s best.

So when he started his own business in 2003, he was determined to make wines that fulfilled Mendoza's potential.

And knowing him like I do since 2011 through my time in the UK, I can confirm he’s done just that!

His pièce de résistance - the Pequeñas Parcelas Gran Malbec

When I came up with the idea for WineSpark three years ago, Mauricio jumped straight on board as an investor.

He understood exactly the problem I was trying to solve, which is that great wine shouldn’t be so intimidating and expensive.

So he created his own special range of wines, called Pequeñas Parcelas, exclusively for WineSpark members like you.

And his 2015 Gran Malbec shows you that amazing potential that Mendoza can offer.

The Rolls-Royce treatment, just for you

He gets his grapes from an immaculate and remote vineyard high up in the Uco Valley called Los Arboles.

I’ve been, and the place takes your breath away in every sense. It's 1,250m above sea level, the air is cool and crisp, and the dramatic Andes mountains stretch as far as the eye can see.

Interestingly the vineyard is full of red shoots. Usually you get the odd red shoot in a vineyard but in this place, 90% of the shoots are red. Mauricio has no idea why but he tells me they go on to produce amazingly flavoured grapes.

He takes a small corner of the vineyard and decreases the yield by 40%, increasing the power and concentration ever further.

Then there’s no expense spared in the winery, as he ages the wine for 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels.

And that most magical ingredient of all… time

The Gran Malbec has been in bottle for seven years now.

Which is just what wines from high altitude need - to go from sharp to sublime.

It's like the difference between a cheap and cheerful steak, and an expensive, dry-aged, prime cut of beef - it goes from fresh and chewy to mellow, rich and savoury.

The result is a dark and brooding red with layers of wood, dark fruit and chocolate. It’s dense and long… the flavours go on forever in your mouth.

Act quick - the 2015 won’t be around too much longer

We’re now down to our last 523 bottles of Gran Malbec. Mauricio's next vintage of this wine will be the 2021.

And with serious grilling season underway (well, kind of) - this is one big red that won’t last the summer.

The wine will easily age another 10 years. So for €26.93 a bottle, there’s just no way you’d get an Argentine wine for this price anywhere else in Ireland.

And that's exactly what we set out to achieve!