Altos Las Hormigas, Colonia Las Liebres Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina, 2018

Overview of the Wine
In 1995 Alberto Antonini, a well-known Tuscan winemaker, and Antonio Morescalchi, a young entrepreneur, took a trip to visit the burgeoning wine areas of South America. It only took one stop to find what they were looking for. They were immediately impressed by the vineyards thriving in the high altitude and dry climate of Mendoza, and were captivated by the whispered traditions and blend of cultures.

They returned to Tuscany powerfully impressed not only by the region, but also by the unexplored potential of Malbec, a grape that had a strong local tradition but was largely ignored and misunderstood. While the rest of the wine world saw Mendoza struggling to shed its bulk wine image, the two young Italians saw Mendoza as a place where traditional viticultural values and unblemished land could be reinvigorated with a modern winemaking approach and international experience. Instead of planting Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, as many others were doing during the 1990s, the team decided to invest their confidence in Malbec. Today, Malbec is the varietal for which Argentina is best known.

Against all odds they cemented their vision to become Terroir Specialists Shortly after, two friends and business partners, also enthused by the idea, joined the venture: Attilio Pagli, a renowned Tuscan winemaker with two 100 point-scoring wines in his personal record and Carlos Vazquez, an Argentine Agronomist, who work for 20 years with the early Catena group, planting new varieties, developing previously unknown vineyard sites and contributing greatly to the qualitative change of Argentine viticulture early on.

Grape / Blend
Malbec

Origin
Mendoza, Argentina

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
If you like a wine as bright as a fresh fruit and as vibrant as a trumpet solo, you may want to try this. Organic farming, deep roots development and total dedication made this wine. 100% Malbec from the winery's own estate in Lujan de Cuyo, with no oak and minimal intervention. Lightness and intensity, tension and depth.

91 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The first vintage of the 2018 Colonia Las Liebres Malbec was produced with fruit from the Altos Las Hormigas vineyard in Luján, with some 30% full cluster in the tanks during the fermentation and then matured in concrete. It's also certified organic. It's very elegant, floral and tasty. It’s an organic wine at the same price as the Clásico, and it's really very good in 2018, a year that feels like classical Mendoza, with good ripeness and balance.

91 Point - James Suckling 
Quite alluring, spicy fruit on the nose. Firm, fleshy palate with ripe tannin and well-crafted fruit in the middle. From organically grown grapes.

Product size: 750ml