A new high-altitude icon for Argentine wine from El Espinillo vineyard, the highest in the Uco Valley
Mendoza, Argentina, Oct. 16, 2024—Terrazas de los Andes, a pioneer of mountain winegrowing since the early 1990s, is proud to introduce Extremo Malbec, a new high-altitude wine icon for Argentina.
“We named this wine Extremo to honor the extreme challenges of the high-altitude viticulture required to farm Malbec at what is the highest working vineyard in Gualtallary, Uco Valley: El Espinillo at 5413 feet elevation,” says Estate Director Lucas Löwi. “These vines are true survivors, enduring the forces of nature season after season. The risk of frost is very high, the winds are strong, and the thermal amplitude is pronounced; yet, the reward in terms of the quality and expression of the grapes is significantly higher.”
Extremo is the pinnacle of what Löwi calls the “Ascension Journey” of Terrazas de los Andes: a historical and geological progression skyward, reflected in a collection of four single-vineyard Malbecs that rise in elevation from Las Compuertas vineyard—planted in 1929 on ungrafted vines at 3510 feet—all the way up to El Espinillo, where Extremo is cultivated from Parcel 1. “The grapes from Parcel 1, with its altitude and biodiverse terroir, experience a slower, more concentrated ripening,” explains Löwi. “This contributes to their intense ruby-red color, bright freshness and a lifted aromatic profile reminiscent of violets, wild thyme and other native herbs that grow here.”
Winemaking plays a role, too, with selective use of carbonic maceration and concrete eggs in the mix, along with mostly neutral oak. The winery also practices regenerative farming on all of its properties.
For Löwi, Extremo represents the crowning achievement of a long, intentional journey. “Just as a mountaineer seeks to summit the highest peaks of the Andes, our team embarked on an ascension journey, discovering and acquiring lands that would provide the freshness, finesse, and elegance necessary for wines that truly reflect the terroir of the Andes,” says Löwi. “As a native of Mendoza, I am incredibly proud to be sharing this wine with the world.”
Making its US debut in October 2024, Extremo will also be the exclusive Argentine wine featured at the Naples Winter Wine Festival in January 2025. The suggested retail price of Extremo is $200.
About Terrazas de los Andes:
The story of Terrazas de los Andes began over 30 years ago, when the team recognized the potential of Mendoza and the Andes to craft fine mountain wines. Driven by this vision, they discovered unexplored lands in the Andes in search of a refined varietal expression that can only be achieved in Mendoza’s cool, high-altitude terraces. It is there, where the earth meets the sky, that Terrazas de los Andes was born. Today, Terrazas de los Andes farms a mosaic of 200+ estate-grown vineyards that capture the bright, fresh taste of the Andes. With respect for nature front and center, the winery’s Guardians of Mountain Life project embraces regenerative viticulture, conserves precious glacier water, and supports the local Andean community and the winery’s own employees.v
