Adelante 'Old Vine' Malbec, La Consulta, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina 2023
Ray Kaufman spent more than two decades as a winemaker at Laurel Glen in Sonoma before turning his attention to Argentina and the indigenous old-vine Malbec of La Consulta. Adelante — meaning "forward" — began with the 2007 purchase of the Don Eugenio vineyard, a 17-acre parcel originally planted in 1946 by Italian immigrant Eugenio Gioachini and farmed continuously on its own roots ever since. By the time Kaufman acquired it, the vineyard had been overcropped and its fruit sold off in bulk; his mission was to restore it and bottle it as a single-vineyard wine for the first time. The inaugural commercial vintage was 2012. The operation is in active conversion to organic farming.
- WINEMAKER: Ray Kaufman
- FARMING: Organic conversion. Dry farmed. Flood irrigated from the Tunuyán River. All work done by hand.
- VARIETY: 100% Malbec
- TERROIR: La Consulta, Valle de Uco, Mendoza. The Don Eugenio vineyard sits at approximately 3,000 feet elevation on the southern bank of the Uco Valley, one of Mendoza's coolest subregions. Soils are alluvial sand and clay over deep strata of river rock. Vines planted 1946; ungrafted. Yield: 2.5 tons per acre.
- VINIFICATION: Hand-harvested. Three-day cold soak. Native yeast fermentation. Natural malolactic fermentation; SO₂ added only upon its completion.
- AGING: Pressed after malolactic fermentation and aged in 25% new French oak, 50% neutral French oak, and 25% stainless steel.
- TASTING NOTES: Deep aromas of dark fruit and spice. Pomegranate at entry transitions to blue fruit — blueberry and blackberry — with a hint of spice. Structured tannins carry through a persistent finish. Built to age.
- FOOD PAIRINGS: Grilled and roasted meats, pasta, milanesa, aged Italian cheeses.
Adelante 'Old Vine' Malbec, La Consulta, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina 2023
Ray Kaufman spent more than two decades as a winemaker at Laurel Glen in Sonoma before turning his attention to Argentina and the indigenous old-vine Malbec of La Consulta. Adelante — meaning "forward" — began with the 2007 purchase of the Don Eugenio vineyard, a 17-acre parcel originally planted in 1946 by Italian immigrant Eugenio Gioachini and farmed continuously on its own roots ever since. By the time Kaufman acquired it, the vineyard had been overcropped and its fruit sold off in bulk; his mission was to restore it and bottle it as a single-vineyard wine for the first time. The inaugural commercial vintage was 2012. The operation is in active conversion to organic farming.
- WINEMAKER: Ray Kaufman
- FARMING: Organic conversion. Dry farmed. Flood irrigated from the Tunuyán River. All work done by hand.
- VARIETY: 100% Malbec
- TERROIR: La Consulta, Valle de Uco, Mendoza. The Don Eugenio vineyard sits at approximately 3,000 feet elevation on the southern bank of the Uco Valley, one of Mendoza's coolest subregions. Soils are alluvial sand and clay over deep strata of river rock. Vines planted 1946; ungrafted. Yield: 2.5 tons per acre.
- VINIFICATION: Hand-harvested. Three-day cold soak. Native yeast fermentation. Natural malolactic fermentation; SO₂ added only upon its completion.
- AGING: Pressed after malolactic fermentation and aged in 25% new French oak, 50% neutral French oak, and 25% stainless steel.
- TASTING NOTES: Deep aromas of dark fruit and spice. Pomegranate at entry transitions to blue fruit — blueberry and blackberry — with a hint of spice. Structured tannins carry through a persistent finish. Built to age.
- FOOD PAIRINGS: Grilled and roasted meats, pasta, milanesa, aged Italian cheeses.