×

Altos Las Hormigas Malbec Appellation Gualtallary 2019 750ml

size
750ml
country
Argentina
region
Cuyo
appellation
Mendoza
subappellation
Gualtallary
WA
97
JS
95
Additional vintages
2019 2018 2017
WA
97
Rated 97 by Wine Advocate
The 2019 Malbec Appellation Gualtallary comes from specific soils, two small three-hectare plots in the Cerros del Jaboncillo, where they find more caliche and limestone in Tupungato Winelands. They believe this place transmits the maximum expression of limestone to Malbec, giving a structured wine with fine-grained tannins with the wilderness from Gualtallary. It fermented in small concrete vats with indigenous yeasts at some 26 degrees Celsius for 20 days. Eighty-five percent of the volume matured in untoasted 3,500-liter French oak foudres for 20 months while the rest was kept in concrete. They sell it a little later than the Altamira because they feel Gualtallary needs a little more time in bottle; therefore, they are now offering the 2019 vintage, a very balanced wine that talks about the place where it was born. This is vibrant and expressive, with a complex nose and especially a lively palate with effervescent acidity and very fine-boned with elegant but firm tannins (they say "Serralunga-like" tannins). I find the recurring iron-like note of blood and fresh meat here too, intermixed with the wild flowers, herbs and spices. This has depth and complexity, and if Altamira is Barbaresco, Gualtallary is Barolo... 10,000 bottles were filled in January 2022. ... More details
Image of bottle
Sample image only. Please see Item description for product Information. When ordering the item shipped will match the product listing if there are any discrepancies. Do not order solely on the label if you feel it does not match product description

Altos Las Hormigas Malbec Appellation Gualtallary 2019 750ml

SKU 902281
Rapid Ship
Qualifies for 12 Ship Free
Choose 12 bottles, get free shipping
$49.94
/750ml bottle
Quantity
* There are 86 bottles available for Rapid Shipment or in-store or curbside pick up in our location in Ballston Lake NY.
Professional Ratings
WA
97
JS
95
WA
97
Rated 97 by Wine Advocate
The 2019 Malbec Appellation Gualtallary comes from specific soils, two small three-hectare plots in the Cerros del Jaboncillo, where they find more caliche and limestone in Tupungato Winelands. They believe this place transmits the maximum expression of limestone to Malbec, giving a structured wine with fine-grained tannins with the wilderness from Gualtallary. It fermented in small concrete vats with indigenous yeasts at some 26 degrees Celsius for 20 days. Eighty-five percent of the volume matured in untoasted 3,500-liter French oak foudres for 20 months while the rest was kept in concrete. They sell it a little later than the Altamira because they feel Gualtallary needs a little more time in bottle; therefore, they are now offering the 2019 vintage, a very balanced wine that talks about the place where it was born. This is vibrant and expressive, with a complex nose and especially a lively palate with effervescent acidity and very fine-boned with elegant but firm tannins (they say "Serralunga-like" tannins). I find the recurring iron-like note of blood and fresh meat here too, intermixed with the wild flowers, herbs and spices. This has depth and complexity, and if Altamira is Barbaresco, Gualtallary is Barolo... 10,000 bottles were filled in January 2022.
JS
95
Rated 95 by James Suckling
#26 TOP 100 WINES OF ARGENTINA, 2022. Dense and powerful, but in a very fresh and scented way, with violet, hibiscus, oyster-shell and hot-stone notes to the black and blue fruit. Almost a bit gamey with some wet earth. Full-bodied and quite dense on the palate. There is volume, with succulents and real structure, and, of course, some fine austerity. Quite puristic and intellectual, far from flattering. Give it some time to fully unwind itself. Best from 2025.
Product Details
size
750ml
country
Argentina
region
Cuyo
appellation
Mendoza
subappellation
Gualtallary
Additional vintages
2019 2018 2017
Overview
Rated 97 - The 2019 Malbec Appellation Gualtallary comes from specific soils, two small three-hectare plots in the Cerros del Jaboncillo, where they find more caliche and limestone in Tupungato Winelands. They believe this place transmits the maximum expression of limestone to Malbec, giving a structured wine with fine-grained tannins with the wilderness from Gualtallary. It fermented in small concrete vats with indigenous yeasts at some 26 degrees Celsius for 20 days. Eighty-five percent of the volume matured in untoasted 3,500-liter French oak foudres for 20 months while the rest was kept in concrete. They sell it a little later than the Altamira because they feel Gualtallary needs a little more time in bottle; therefore, they are now offering the 2019 vintage, a very balanced wine that talks about the place where it was born. This is vibrant and expressive, with a complex nose and especially a lively palate with effervescent acidity and very fine-boned with elegant but firm tannins (they say "Serralunga-like" tannins). I find the recurring iron-like note of blood and fresh meat here too, intermixed with the wild flowers, herbs and spices. This has depth and complexity, and if Altamira is Barbaresco, Gualtallary is Barolo... 10,000 bottles were filled in January 2022.
green grapes

Varietal: Malbec

In recent years, the Malbec single variety wines coming out of many New World countries have been gaining a lot of attention as a result of their fantastic plummy flavors, and strong, full-bodied nature. However, Malbec grape varietals have been cultivated for centuries in many Old World countries for these very characteristics, and they have long had a strong presence in some of the best blended wines ever produced by leading wineries. Their high tannin level and heavy juiciness means they are ideal for big, powerful full-bodied wines packing a strong fruit-forward punch on the palate, and their beautiful deep red color has long been admired and upheld as a mark of quality. The Malbec grapes are probably at their best when blended with other, mellower and more rounded grape varietals, such as a Merlot, as this allows their best features and their fruity flavor to shine, whilst being softened somewhat and made lighter and more drinkable.
barrel

Region: Cuyo

The region of Cuyo has been internationally associated with fine Argentinian wine for several decades, and has a wine history which stretches back centuries to the time of the original Spanish settlers, who sought areas in which to plant imported grape vines for sacramental wine production. The region contains several of Argentina's most renowned and widely appreciated provinces, including the Mendoza, La Rioja, San Juan and San Luis, and the mountainous nature of this arid region provides an ideal environment for vineyard cultivation. As the mighty Desaguadero River snakes its way between the Andes, it deposits plenty of important minerals in the soil, which allow grape varietals closely associated with the Argentinian wine industry – such as Malbec – to grow to a perfect level of ripeness. As such, even in the driest areas of the Cuyo region, flavorful and fruit-forward wines are produced in impressive amounts.
fields

Country: Argentina

Anyone who has been the Mendoza area of Argentina may be surprised to find that this is one of the primary wine regions of the country, now comfortably sitting as the fifth largest producer of wine in the world. The Mendoza is an incredibly dry and arid desert, which receives as little as two hundred millimeters of rainfall per year, and supports very little life at all. We can thank the ancient technologies of the Huarpes Indians for Argentina's current booming wine trade, as they managed to irrigate the region by digging channels from the Mendoza river, thus creating an area which had enough access to water with which to grow vines. Not only this, but the grape which Argentina primarily uses for their wines – Malbec – actually flourishes in such conditions, as it is less likely to suffer from the rot it so often finds in the considerably damper regions of Europe it has its origins in. Such expertise and foresight has resulted in Argentina being able to produce high quality wines of both red and white types, with Malbec, Bonarda and Cabernet Sauvignon dominating the vineyards for red wines, and Torrontés, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc making up for most of the white wine produced there.
Customer Reviews
Customer Reviews

There have been no reviews for this product.

More wines available from Altos Las Hormigas
750ml
Bottle: $11.71
Rated 88 - Neutral nose with nectarines, green citrus and green apples. Crisp, bright and fresh with light flavors....
JS
88
Rapid Ship
750ml
Bottle: $9.50
Rated 90 - They define their approachable and very affordable red 2020 Colonia Las Liebres Bonarda Clásica, a wine...
WA
90
VM
90
Rapid Ship
750ml
Bottle: $9.64
Rated 90 - Their bread-and-butter red 2019 Malbec Clásico wants to show, through an early harvest and an élevage...
WA
90
375ml
Bottle: $6.18
Rated 90 - The red 2020 Malbec Clásico was produced with 80% grapes from Luján de Cuyo and 20% grapes from Valle de...
WA
90
VM
90
750ml
Bottle: $40.88
Rated 94 - The 2019 Malbec Appellation Paraje Altamira is made with grapes from the eponymous Uco Valley Gl and aged...
VM
94
JS
93
More Details
green grapes

Varietal: Malbec

In recent years, the Malbec single variety wines coming out of many New World countries have been gaining a lot of attention as a result of their fantastic plummy flavors, and strong, full-bodied nature. However, Malbec grape varietals have been cultivated for centuries in many Old World countries for these very characteristics, and they have long had a strong presence in some of the best blended wines ever produced by leading wineries. Their high tannin level and heavy juiciness means they are ideal for big, powerful full-bodied wines packing a strong fruit-forward punch on the palate, and their beautiful deep red color has long been admired and upheld as a mark of quality. The Malbec grapes are probably at their best when blended with other, mellower and more rounded grape varietals, such as a Merlot, as this allows their best features and their fruity flavor to shine, whilst being softened somewhat and made lighter and more drinkable.
barrel

Region: Cuyo

The region of Cuyo has been internationally associated with fine Argentinian wine for several decades, and has a wine history which stretches back centuries to the time of the original Spanish settlers, who sought areas in which to plant imported grape vines for sacramental wine production. The region contains several of Argentina's most renowned and widely appreciated provinces, including the Mendoza, La Rioja, San Juan and San Luis, and the mountainous nature of this arid region provides an ideal environment for vineyard cultivation. As the mighty Desaguadero River snakes its way between the Andes, it deposits plenty of important minerals in the soil, which allow grape varietals closely associated with the Argentinian wine industry – such as Malbec – to grow to a perfect level of ripeness. As such, even in the driest areas of the Cuyo region, flavorful and fruit-forward wines are produced in impressive amounts.
fields

Country: Argentina

Anyone who has been the Mendoza area of Argentina may be surprised to find that this is one of the primary wine regions of the country, now comfortably sitting as the fifth largest producer of wine in the world. The Mendoza is an incredibly dry and arid desert, which receives as little as two hundred millimeters of rainfall per year, and supports very little life at all. We can thank the ancient technologies of the Huarpes Indians for Argentina's current booming wine trade, as they managed to irrigate the region by digging channels from the Mendoza river, thus creating an area which had enough access to water with which to grow vines. Not only this, but the grape which Argentina primarily uses for their wines – Malbec – actually flourishes in such conditions, as it is less likely to suffer from the rot it so often finds in the considerably damper regions of Europe it has its origins in. Such expertise and foresight has resulted in Argentina being able to produce high quality wines of both red and white types, with Malbec, Bonarda and Cabernet Sauvignon dominating the vineyards for red wines, and Torrontés, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc making up for most of the white wine produced there.