PATAGONIA,ARGENTINA
,
winetasting isunderstand-
ablynotthefirstactivitythat
comestomind.Evendinosaur
bonesaremore famous. Inthis
coveted landofdramaticsnow-
cappedAndespeaks, colossal
chunksof icethesizeofcities
andglacial lakesofother-
worldlyhuesof jade, it’smore
abouttrekking, climbingand
boatingthroughsomeof the
world’smostremotewilder-
ness—notfinewine.Butsome
220mileseastof theaction,
atthedoorsteptoPatagonia,
wherebone-dry,windswept
Steppe landscapesdominate
andextraordinarycarnivorous
dinosaur fossilsseizethebig-
gestheadlines,oneof theNew
World’snewestwineregions
hasemerged.
This isbecause inthe late
1990s, inthevineyardsaround
SanPatriciodelChañar,28
milesnorthof theprovincial
capitalofNeuquén,untouched
soilwassowedwithgrape
vines.Yousee, ithaddawned
onwinemakersand investors
thattheextremeclimatehere
—unlikeArgentina’smore
famousAndes-huggingregions
inMendozaandSalta— lent
itself towinemakingwithout
theneedofsupertechnology.
Thedryandwindyclimate
preventeddiseaseon itsown.
“Thiswasthe lastregionto
besettled inArgentina— it’s
the frontier,”explainsJulio
ViolaJr.,DirectoratBodega
NQNViñedosde laPatagonia,
amodernboutiquewinery
thatrises fromthedesertscape
likeadesignerbunker. “And
becauseof theclimate,wedon’t
needtouse fancytechniques
inthewinemakingprocess.
Whatwedohere inPatagonia
translatesnaturally fromthe
vineyardstothewine. It’sactu-
allyorganicbynature.Weuse
thephrase ‘naturallyhealthy.’¤”
Pinotnoir,alongwith
merlot,malbecandcabernet
sauvignon,areemergingas
signaturevarieties forthe
sevennewwinerieshere(along
withfive intheneighboring
RioNegroprovince). Ithasn’t
taken long forthemtostand
upagainstwines fromSalta
—traditionallythoughtofas
Argentina’sotherwineregion
afterMendoza—all thewhile
distinguishingthemselves
fromdomesticcompetition
withgorgeouswinesshowing
minerally,French-leaning
characteristicsonthepalate;
dark,deeplyconcentratedreds
andpurples intheglass;and
an impressiveglass-to-mouth
sensoryassault.
AtBodegaPatritti,architect
RubenSidonidesignedthe
modern,wavy-roofedspaceto
helpbuªerthewindandmimic
theslopeof thesurrounding
landscape.Withthewinery
havingconcentrated itseªorts
onproducingseveral impres-
sivevintagesbefore focusing
onthetouristexperience, the
wine-tastingreceptionarea
isonly justnowreceiving its
finishingtouches,allofwhich
shouldbe inplacebytheendof
theyear(and it’llbewell-worth
thewait, trustus).Theirbest
oªering,anas-yet-unnamed
super-premiumblendofcaber-
netsauvignon,merlot,malbec,
andpetitverdot, isashow-
stopper, ifwinemakerNicolás
Navíodoesn’tsaysohimself:
“Thewinesare livinguptothe
name
Patagonia
.”
AUTUMN
78
