Friends and business partners Alberto Antonini and Antonio Morescalchi first visited Mendoza in 1995 and were instantly impressed by the vineyards they discovered. Nearly three decades later, the estate they founded, Altos Las Hormigas, has gone from being a youthful dream to one of the country’s leading producers.
Alberto and Antonio work very closely with Pedro Parra (widely regarded as the world’s leading expert on soil and vineyard mapping) to identify the best vineyard sites to grow their grapes. As a result, they have discovered outstanding sites across Mendoza and aim to show the distinct character of each through their wines. From Luján de Cuyo they obtain fine tannins, concentration and a dark purple colour, whereas the calcareous, high-elevation sites of Vistaflores, Altamira and Gualtallary each bring distinctive perfumes and mouth-filling textures.
In 2020, Federico Gambetta was appointed winemaker and by 2021, he was producing 100-point wines, propelling this highly respected winery into a new era. A combination of biodynamic farming, minimal intervention in the winery, as well as Alberto and Antonio’s relentless experimentation and desire to produce Argentina’s best wines, has given Altos its reputation as one of the country’s leading Malbec specialists.
Located in Altamira, the `Jardín de Hormigas` vineyard is certified organic with 40% of its 32 hectares planted with native flora, ensuring biodiversity corridors grow among the vines. This vineyard is separated into 22 plots which were mapped and analysed by Pedro Parra when the vineyard was planted in 2017. Each plot (on average less than 1.5 hectares in size) is farmed and harvested individually, producing incredible wines with unique personalities across 23 different soil types. `Meteora` is a wine sourced from four plots within the ‘Jardín de Hormigas’ vineyard. Made from 100% Malbec, it is vinified in concrete tanks with 15% whole cluster, before ageing in concrete for 12 months. Originally intended to offer a more straightforward style of Malbec from this vineyard, the final wine is quite the opposite, offering a unique, diverse and complex expression.
