Vins de Mendoza : altitude, sous-régions et styles
77 bouteilles de la province, de 9,40 € à 330 €Almost all exported Argentine wine comes from a single province, and almost everything there hinges on one factor: the height at which the vines are planted. Between the riverside vineyards and the plateaus of Tupungato lie eight hundred metres of elevation, around ten degrees of difference at night, and wines that no longer have much in common.
This page acts as a signpost. It locates each area, explains what altitude, meltwater and the Zonda wind do to the grapes, then points you to the section that matches the style you are looking for.
Catena Zapata - Adrianna Fortuna Terrae 2022
A high-altitude Malbec of great finesse, where Andean freshness meets the depth of Gualtallary's limestone soils.
Catena Zapata - Adrianna White Bones 2023
A great high-altitude Argentinian Chardonnay, taut, mineral, and deeply marked by its Gualtallary limestone terroir.
Altos las Hormigas - Malbec Terroir Uco Valley 2022
A precise and juicy high-altitude Malbec, where the freshness of the Uco Valley enhances the expression of the limestone terroir.
Reserva de Los Andes - Malbec Blanco 2025
A white-vinified Malbec that makes this wine unique and original
Catena Zapata - Adrianna River 2022
A high-altitude Malbec, precise and profound, that brilliantly expresses the unique minerality of the Adrianna vineyard.
Catena Zapata - Adrianna Mundus Bacillus Terrae 2021
A high-altitude Malbec, with rare mineral precision, that finely expresses the uniqueness of the Adrianna vineyard.
Garganta del Diablo - Malbec 2024
A high-altitude Argentinian Malbec, combining intense fruit, Andean freshness and silky tannins.
Luca Wines - Dante's Kiss 2019
An Argentinian red from high altitudes, combining Andean intensity, freshness and Bordeaux elegance.
Domaine Nico - Le Paradis Pinot Noir 2018
An Argentinian high-altitude Pinot Noir combining aromatic finesse, freshness and elegant texture.
Domaine Nico - Grand Père Pinot Noir 2022
An Argentinian Pinot Noir from high altitudes, combining freshness, finesse and aromatic intensity.
Domaine Nico - La Savante Pinot Noir 2022
An Argentinian high-altitude Pinot Noir that combines finesse, freshness and aromatic depth.
Nico Winery - Grandma Pinot Noir 2022
An Argentinian high-altitude Pinot Noir that combines finesse, freshness and aromatic depth.
Domaine Nico - Histoire d'A Pinot Noir 2022
A fine and precise Argentinian high-altitude Pinot Noir, where Andean freshness meets Burgundian elegance.
Caelum - Eclat Extra Brut 2017
A refined high-altitude sparkling wine, combining freshness, complexity and elegance in an ethereal harmony
Caelum - Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2019
An intense, structured and elegant Argentinian Cabernet, with deep aromas of black fruits and spices.
Caelum - Fiano Terroir 2024
A 100% fresh, mineral Fiano enhanced by the purity of the high altitudes of Mendoza.
Dona Paula - Los Cardos Chardonnay 2020
Chardonnay vif de Mendoza, agrumes et fruits exotiques, à boire bien frais.
The Rural - Rutini Antologia LIII 2018
A blend of the best grapes of the vintage, from a selection of 3 exceptional terroirs
Dona Paula - Seleccion De Bodega Malbec 2018
La sélection de la bodega chez Doña Paula, malbec profond, cuir et violette.
Dona Paula - Los Indios Malbec 2018
Malbec de climat frais à El Cepillo, poivre et violette sur une trame ferme.
Dona Paula - Los Cardos Red Blend 2018
Trois cépages, un rouge argentin rond et épicé qui passe tout seul à table.
Dona Paula - Los Cardos Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
Cassis et poivre, un cabernet argentin direct qui ne demande pas d'attente.
Dona Paula - Estate Chardonnay 2018
Chardonnay d'altitude à Mendoza, poire et brioche sur une acidité tendue.
Dona Paula - Alluvia Malbec 2018
A single-parcel Malbec from the Uco Valley: dense, floral and built to last.
Sous-régions : sols, altitudes et cépages
The province stretches three hundred kilometres from north to south, but it is the vertical axis that decides everything. Moving up towards the cordillera, the temperature drops by half a degree every hundred metres, the soils shift from deep silt to limestone pebbles, and the same grape variety produces two unrelated wines.
| Sous-région | Altitude et sols | Cépages | What it changes in the glass |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valle de UcoTupungato, San Carlos, Gualtallary, Altamira | 1 000 à 1 700 m, alluvions caillouteuses et poches calcaires, sols pauvres | Malbec, chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet franc | Tanin fin et serré, acidité naturelle haute, fruit rouge tendu plutôt que confit, finales salines |
| Luján de CuyoUgarteche, Agrelo, Perdriel, Vistalba | 900 à 1 100 m, argilo-calcaire profond sur le cône alluvial du Río Mendoza | Malbec historique, cabernet sauvignon, fiano | Plus de chair et de rondeur, tanin enrobé, fruit noir mûr, élevage en fût mieux absorbé |
| Maipú | 700 à 900 m, sols sableux et limoneux, proches du fleuve et de la ville | Malbec, torrontés, bonarda | Supple, aromatic wines, ready early. The cradle of the vineyard, but barely represented in our selection |
| San Rafael | 450 à 800 m, sud de la province, terrasses du Diamante et de l'Atuel | Chenin, malbec, bonarda | Climat plus venté et plus exposé à la grêle, vins droits et acidulés. Zone absente du rayon aujourd'hui |
| East Mendoza | 600 à 750 m, plaine irriguée de Rivadavia et Santa Rosa, sols profonds et fertiles | Bonarda, criolla, malbec de volume | The province's breadbasket: high yields, light wines, rarely exported under their own name |
The two areas that account for most of our selection have their own sections: Valle de Uco and Luján de Cuyo. To look beyond the province, see Salta and Patagonia, or head back to our section on Argentina.
L'altitude, palier après palier
Height does not act on its own; it acts through the cold of the night and the radiation of the day. At 1,400 m, the thermometer drops by fifteen degrees between afternoon and dawn: the plant stops burning its acids, the skins thicken, and the tannins ripen without the sugar running away.
| Altitude | What happens in the vineyard | What you find in the glass | Examples in our cellar |
|---|---|---|---|
| 600 à 800 m | Chaleur d'été forte, maturité rapide, l'acidité chute et la vendange tombe tôt | Fruit mûr, tanin souple, vin de soif, alcool vite haut | Barely present here: our first bottle, the Turno de Noche, already grows higher up, €9.90 |
| 900 à 1 100 m | Luján de Cuyo et haut Maipú, quinze degrés d'écart entre jour et nuit | Fruit noir mûr, tanin enrobé, matière ronde qui supporte le bois | Caelum Terroir Cabernet Sauvignon, 14,90 €. Doña Paula Estate Black Edition, 1 050 m, 15,50 € |
| 1 100 à 1 400 m | Cœur du Valle de Uco, nuits froides, cycle allongé de trois semaines | Acidité plus haute, tanin droit, fruit rouge et sensation saline | Doña Paula Altitude Series 1100 et 1350, 24 € chacune. Bousquet Gran Malbec, 24,90 € |
| Au-delà de 1 500 m | Haut Gualtallary et La Carrera, gel de printemps, rendements faibles, ultraviolets intenses | Tension, acidité vive, alcool contenu, un profil de climat frais | Riccitelli Viñedos de Montaña Chardonnay, La Carrera, 1 700 m, 46 €. Adrianna White Bones, 122 € |
A grape variety always reads through its altitude: a Malbec from 1,000 m and a Malbec from 1,400 m are nothing alike. The same gap applies to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
The water does not fall from the sky; it comes down from the Andes
The province gets around two hundred millimetres of rain a year, a semi-desert regime. Without the cordillera, there would not be a single vine. The whole vineyard lives on snowmelt, captured in the Río Mendoza, the Tunuyán and the Diamante, then distributed through a network of canals inherited from the Huarpe people.
Each parcel has a water right attached to its title deed, counted in hours of irrigation. Newer estates have replaced flood irrigation with drip irrigation: poor, steep soils can be planted, and water stress is managed rather than simply endured.
Le Zonda, ce vent qui décide de la récolte
From August to November, a wind comes down from the cordillera, compressing and warming as it goes: thirty-five degrees, ten per cent humidity, violent gusts. It scorches young shoots and jeopardises flowering when it arrives at the wrong moment. The rest of the year, this dry air is a blessing, keeping almost all vine diseases at bay.
L'équipe du Baroudeur du Vin
Ce qu'on nous demande sur Mendoza
Quelle différence entre un malbec du Valle de Uco et un malbec de Luján de Cuyo ?
Une affaire d'altitude et de sol. Luján de Cuyo, autour de 1 000 m sur argilo-calcaire profond, donne un malbec charnu, au tanin enrobé. Le Valle de Uco, entre 1 100 et 1 700 m sur galets et calcaire, resserre le tanin, garde l'acidité et pousse le vin vers le fruit rouge et une finale saline.
À partir de quel budget commence un vin de Mendoza intéressant ?
The first worthwhile step is around €10, with Caselles & Guillaume Letang's Turno de Noche at €9.90 or Doña Paula's Los Cardos Malbec at €9.50. Between €20 and €30, the single-parcel cuvées of the Valle de Uco. Above €100, Catena Zapata's Adrianna vineyards.
Why are Mendoza's vineyards irrigated?
Because barely two hundred millimetres of rain fall each year, a semi-desert regime. The water comes from Andean snowmelt, captured in the rivers and then distributed through a network of canals several centuries old. Each parcel has a water right attached to its title deed, now delivered by drip irrigation.
Qu'est-ce que le vent Zonda ?
A foehn-type wind that crosses the cordillera, compresses as it loses altitude and arrives hot and very dry over the vineyards, sometimes at thirty-five degrees with ten per cent humidity. It damages flowering when it blows in the southern spring, but the dry air it brings greatly limits downy and powdery mildew.
L'amplitude thermique, à quoi sert-elle concrètement ?
By day, the sun builds sugars and ripens the tannins. At night, the cold slows the plant's respiration, so it stops consuming its own acids. A difference of around fifteen degrees between afternoon and dawn produces grapes that are both ripe and acidic, hence the freshness of wines that are nonetheless very sunny.
Mendoza produit-elle autre chose que du malbec ?
Very much so. In our selection, Cabernet Sauvignon comes just behind Malbec, followed by Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which is very much at home on the heights of the Valle de Uco. You will also find Cabernet Franc, Fiano, Bonarda and a little Torrontés.
Ces vins se gardent-ils ?
The entry-level cuvées are drunk within three years, for their fruit. The reservas from Luján de Cuyo last five to ten years thanks to their concentration. The high-altitude Malbecs of the Valle de Uco, more acidic and more tannic, need two to three years in the cellar before opening up, then evolve over a decade.
À quelle température servir un malbec de Mendoza ?
Between sixteen and seventeen degrees, slightly cooler than people instinctively serve them. Above eighteen, the alcohol stands out and the fruit flattens. The whites from Gualtallary are served at around eleven degrees, but they benefit from warming up in the glass. Half an hour in a decanter helps young vintages.
Peut-on commander une seule bouteille ?
Cela dépend de la cuvée. Une partie du rayon se vend à l'unité en 750 ml, le reste part en lot de deux, en lot de trois ou en caisse de six, parfois en magnum. Le format proposé et son prix s'affichent sur la fiche du produit, et la page contact permet de vérifier avant de commander.