Mauricio was a bit of a winemaking prodigy from the start - he spent his first four years at Catena, 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.

Part of his experience was travelling around the world’s best vineyards, and each time Mauricio came home to Mendoza, he was more and more convinced it could make wines 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.

His immaculate, remote Los Arboles vineyard would literally take your breath away. 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.

It made perfect sense when Mauricio told me what made the place so special for making wine:
- Sunshine - the intensity of sunlight up here ripens the grapes with deep flavour and colour
- Water - Mendoza is basically a desert (it’s on the same latitude as the Sahara) with poor soils and very little rainfall. So Mauricio can control exactly how much water the vines need and when, irrigating them with melted snow from the Andes
- Day/night temperatures - While the days are hot, the temperatures drop to very cold at night, which extends the ripening season, and gives the grapes freshness, complexity and balance.

When I called up Mauricio to tell him about WineSpark, he knew just the wines to reach for.