A brief guide to Argentinian vintages
Argentina is an incredibly diverse and interesting place to make wine. Different years present different challenges, which is what makes wine so fascinating. Here’s a brief overview of the last six years…
2019 – Excellent vintage. A cold winter and dry summer characterised the harvest in Argentina offering good concentration of fruit and balance of acidity.
2018 – A dry, sunny year which Argentina's Vintners said delivered best quality harvest since 2013. The drought concentrated flavours and yields returned to normal after lower yields in previous vintages.
2017 – A classic. Slightly higher yields than 2016 and very healthy grapes led to a high-quality vintage. Chardonnay was the standout with balance and intense aromas, finesse and balance.
2016 – Warm, wet weather due to the El Nino led to difficult conditions and much work was required to avoid grape health issues, leading to a lower than anticipated harvests. Additionally, late frosts affected harvests around certain parts of Mendoza. All told, this led to lower alcohol and a fresh acidity.
2015 – Warm, wet and humid. Certainly not ideal and definitely presented challenges to growers. Those with good drainage fared better.
2014 – Late spring frosts were followed by a cool, wet end to a very hot early summer, giving a long ripening season and offering up great freshness and aromas. The late spring frosts however reduced Chardonnay yields by around 50%.
2013 - Great freshness. A mixed summer following on from a rather cool spring lead to a high-quality vintage. The cooler end to the summer ripening period lead to lower alcohol and great freshness from the natural acidity.
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