Henry Lagarde Primeras Malbec

Henry Lagarde is a historic winery in the Lujan de Cuyo region of Mendoza, Argentina. The winery was built in 1897, among the first in the region, overseen by generations of the Pescarmona family. Today, Sofia Pescarmona de Boschi is in charge of operations. Grapes are grown at various vineyards, strategically-planted locations that provide optimal conditions for each varietal. They produce a wide range of wines in dry white, red, rosé, sparkling and sweet styles Several vintages have been winning prizes in competitions: the 2011 vintage was awarded Bronze from the Decanter World Wine Awards, and the 2008 vintage was awarded Bronze from the International Wine & Spirit Competition. Only a couple of critics have rated this Lujan de Cuyo wine so far. This is priced above average for red wine from Lujan de Cuyo. The price has been stable over the past year. Malbec is a black-skinned grape variety native to south-western France (specifically the area around Cahors), but now better known as the iconic wine grape of Argentina. Through its success in the vineyards of Mendoza, in a few short decades Malbec has shot from relative obscurity to international fame, simultaneously bringing new-found attention and respect to Argentina as a wine-producing nation. Malbec typically ripens midway through the growing season and produces small, intensely colored grapes. As it is so sensitive to its growing environment, the level of ripeness has a considerable effect on the structure of the eventual wine. Broadly speaking, French Malbec tends to be more meaty, rustic and tannic, while examples from Argentina seem to be uniformly rich, ripe, jammy and juicy. On both sides of the Atlantic, Malbec wines are generally aged in oak to enhance the wine’s structure and aging potential.