The splendid city of San Rafael, Mendoza.
Many I meet in the wine industry have heard of Mendoza. They do the wine tours of Valle de Uco (gorgeous) and can spout off a dozen vineyards they visited on that dusty road.
But few outside of Argentina know the lower regions of Mendoza, namely San Rafael.
The best way to describe San Rafael is an oasis. As you're descending from the fierce Andes, you see a patch of green in the distance.
The glacier waters of the Andes have flown through this town for ages. Secchia ditches weave like veins through the city. Watering the thirsty alamos and more importantly - grape vines.
You'll see old rusty metal gates steering the crystal clear waters to each farm. Still cold from the Andes.
It's truly a lovely city. Worth visiting.
Cafes, restaurants, bars and wine tasting rooms.
Many young families (a sign of growth in my opinion). Lovely parks named after their hero San Martin.
Now let's talk wine.
There's almost 15,000 acres of vineyard planted in San Rafael. All watered by the ancient Atuel and Diamante rivers.
According to Facundo Pereira, winemaker at Casa Bianchi, this gives "good acidity and a lively palate, principally in Malbec and the whites."
Bianchi won Best in Show at Decanter World Awards.
I hear the local winemakers use the word "alluvial" a lot when describing the terroir of San Rafael. After nodding my head, I had to look up why they kept using this word.
"a fine-grained fertile soil deposited by water flowing over flood plains or in river beds. type of: dirt, soil. the part of the earth's surface consisting of humus and disintegrated rock."
The town is nestled between two ancient rivers, this makes sense. Centuries of river sediment has created a soil that grapes love.
Mauro Nosenzo who runs Algodon Wine says, "Our soils are deep and plentiful in sand, clay and gravel. This results in softer wines, with well rounded tannins and an enveloping texture."
Another unique trait of the San Rafael geography is what you could almost call a "goldilocks" situation. You have huge mountains to the west, cold and warm air meeting.
Yes, you have the hot sun and cool nights which Malbec and Cabernet love.
But you also have masses of cold air from Patagonia in the South which means white wines also love it here.
That means Chenin Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay, Tocay... I could go on.
Something I've noticed. When you mention San Rafael to Argentines they know it (Bianchi sells the most wine domestically). But you talk to foreigners and they haven't heard about it yet.
I think that'll change very soon. At least that's my biased opinion...
