Bonarda, Aguijon de Abeja 2020, Argentina

"Obrera" is the 'worker bee'. The maximum expression of wine in this line, the crowned head of the colony. 

Very pretty and serious Bonarda with dark-berry, crushed-stone and slate aromas and flavors. It’s full and flavorful with energy and intensity. Clove and light pepper at the end.

Cold maceración during 8 days at 6ºC. Alcoholic fermentation during 20 days at controlled temperatures between 25ºC and 27ºC with native yeasts. Malolactic fermentation in second and third use French oak barrels. Ageing during 7 months at the same barrels. Bottling in Febrero 2020. This wine has not been clarified, stabilized neither filtered to preserve all the natural caracteristics of its origin.

Hector and Pablo Durigutti are based in Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza and not only have a stellar reputation in Argentina but have recently expanded their work with ‘unusual’ grape varietals into Galicia in NW Spain.

Hector and Pablo were born in Mendoza, the cradle of wine and were raised together. Their childhood and their home were always connected to a sensorial world, with aromas, ingredients and flavors that, over time, motivated them to choose the path to become enologists. As adults, they would find these familiar memories and similar passions. Since 2002 they have been dedicated to their project as a small family winey. Today the brothers have evolved to form the new generation of winemakers, leading an evolutionary change in Argentina’s viticulture. With that same spirit, the Durigutti brothers craft their wines and have started to write their own history, a family legacy, in a chosen place where they live and work daily with dedication.

Their Aguijón de Abeja (‘bee sting’) range uses grape varietals from outside Mendoza. This Bonarda is from the very hot, arid and mountainous vineyards of Catamarca in NW Argentina (Bonarda needs lots of heat to ripen properly which is why, in Europe, it was more widely used as a blending grape) but they also grow other varietals all the way down as far as Patagonia. 

This Bonarda vineyard was originally planted in 1938.  The grapes are hand-harvested, cold macerated and then fermented with indigenous yeasts in concrete ‘eggs’ before malolactic in 2^nd and 3^rd fill French barrels.  The abv is 14%.  The wine is certified organic (‘Organico Argentina’ and also ‘Letis’ for N. American market – the certification is on their website) and is also vegan.