Mendoza province, located at the eastern base of the Andes, is home to virtually all the best vineyards in Argentina. It’s high, dry and desert-like but snow in the mountains provides ample water for irrigation. Temperatures are hot during the summer and cool at night, making for ideal grape growth.

Argentina wasn’t doing well wine-wise in the 90’s. However, when their winemakers began realizing that the Malbec they produced had great potential in the global market, they began investing in techniques and technology they had been avoiding. As with Chile, where all had begun to happen earlier, foreign investors and winemakers also began taking an interest in Argentina, bringing with them international business acumen and enological insight.

One of the wineries founded at this time was Altos Las Hormigas. How they got started is a fun and true story and deserves some, albeit brief, retelling. In 1995, Alberto Antonini, a well-known Tuscan winemaker and Antonio Morescalchi, a young entrepreneur bored with his car dealership, decided to visit Argentina’s wine-producing areas. They discovered and were overwhelmed by the potential of Malbec in Mendoza. So overwhelmed were they that shortly thereafter they purchased 216 hectares in the Mendoza township of Lujan de Cuyo. Their enthusiasm spread to their friends and soon the duo became a sextet. Climbing aboard were: Attilio Pagli , another well-known Tuscan winemaker; Marco de Grazia, well-known Italian wine negociant; Alan Scerbaneko, a Swiss managerial counselor; and Antonio Terni, Italo-Argentine Bob Dylan aficionado, who also produces top quality wines in Italy’s Marche region. Thus was born Altos Las Hormigas.

The 2001 edition of the Altos Las Hormigas Mendoza Malbec is a great example of what some would call a seamless wine. The color is a deep ruby. On the nose, one detects blackberry, cherry, mocha and sottobosco. The wine flows smoothly past a well-balanced foundation consisting of a medium body, soft tannins and just the right amount of acid. Cherry and blackberry notes arrive quickly on the palate and continue for at least one minute. Since this is as good as it is and at this price, you really want to taste its reserva brother as well. To accompany this, beef, beef and more beef. Unfortunately, Argentine beef hasn’t been granted passage to the U.S. as yet but ours will do just fine until then.

—Dr. Marty