2021 Domaine Nico "Grand Mère" Pinot Noir, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina

ABOUT THIS WINE

Villa Bastias is located in Tupungato within the Uco Valley. The vineyard is old and planted with Dijon Clones in 1993. The Grand Mère parcel gets more sun than the Grand Pere block, with generous and silky tannins. Winemaking is traditional and gentle for these delicate wines. Yields are extrememly low in both sites due to the age of the vineyard.

Fermented with 20% whole clusters and indigenous yeast in small vats of 800L. Punch-down extraction done by hand with max. fermentation temperature reaching 25C. Maceration took place over 7-10 days and malolactic fermentation took place in barrel.

The wine is aged in 2nd use French oak barrels for 14 months prior to bottling.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Domaine Nico is the world's first extreme high-altitude parcela Pinot Noir. It is an unusual location for the New World with limestone soil of alluvial origin and cool climate and a labor of love for the Catena family.

The vineyard is named after Laura's daughter, Nicola, whose name pays homage to Nicola Catena, Laura's great-grandfather and founder of the Catena winery in 1902.

Laura has been in love with Pinot Noir since her first travels to France as a teenager. A self-avowed francophile, Laura studied French throughout university. She has a lifelong obsession with authors Sartre and Camus, as well as with the Louvre and the Centre Georges Pompidou, where she has spent countless hours.

With Domaine Nico, Laura borrows from France in the names of the wine parcels and in the concept of individual terroirs, but also plays with the words to give the wines a modern twist that’s reflective of their style.