El Montañista | Criollas Tintas

Avid mountaineers Pancho and Nuria Bugallo make artisan wines from heritage varietals in the Calingasta Valley between the Cordillera Frontal and the foothills of San Juan, north of Mendoza province of Argentina. Continuing the region's long history of wine making they work counter to modern Argentinian trends by celebrating old vine 'Criolla' grape varieties which are descended from the first grapes brought to South America by the Conquistadors in the 16th Century. Viticulture is organic and harvesting done by hand, with the wines aged in concrete eggs, resulting in fragrant, pure and vivid wines which show a pure distillation of their terroir.

The Criollas Tintas is a juicy field blend of 'Criolla' varieties including Torrontés Sanjuanino, Torrontés Mendocino, Malvasías Criollas and Maticha, sourced from 80-year-old vines. A pure, vivid red that balances a perfumed, ethereal redcurrant and raspberry fruit core with a savoury, mineral finish.