Altos Las Hormigas, `Terroir` Uco Valley Malbec

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 soil mapping expert Pedro Parra to identify the best vineyard sites to grow their grapes. As a result, they have discovered outstanding sites across Mendoza, many certified organic, 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.

The ‘Colonia Las Liebres’ Bonarda Clásica is certified organic and offers a juicy, approachable style with soft tannins. The Blanco blends Chenin Blanc, Pedro Giménez and Semillon, grown in the Uco Valley on deep, lime soils. The certified organic Malbec Clásico is fresh and fruit-driven, sourced mainly from the estate’s vineyards in the Luján de Cuyo, on silty soils. Also, from Luján de Cuyo, the elegant Malbec ‘Terroir’ hails from an organic vineyard planted on limestone, offering a point of distinction from the area's typical alluvial and clay soils, which produce bolder wines.

The remaining wines are produced exclusively from fruit sourced from select sites in the Uco Valley. The ‘Terroir’ series continues with the Malbec ‘Terroir’, Uco Valley, which marries the region’s florals with stunning purity of fruit. The Malbec Reserve offers more depth and complexity, as it is sourced from distinguished calcareous terraces, with 75% of the wine aged for 18 months in 3,500 litres untoasted French oak foudres, and 25% aged in concrete tanks, before a further 12 months ageing in bottle.

Altos Las Hormigas produce two single-vineyard Malbecs from the renowned Uco Valley appellations of Altamira and Gualtallary. The Altamira vineyard is planted at 1,200 metres above sea level, and the Gualtallary vineyard at 1,300 metres above sea level. The ‘Appellation Altamira’ Malbec is elegant and aromatic, whereas the ‘Appellation Gualtallary’ Malbec is rounder and more powerful with great concentration, perfectly highlighting the Uco Valley’s site diversity.

Located in Paraje Altamira, the ‘Jardín de Hormigas’ vineyard is certified organic, with 40% of its 32 hectares planted with native flora to create biodiversity corridors among the vines. The vineyard was mapped and analysed by Pedro Parra, who identified 22 plots before it was planted in 2017. Each plot is, on average, less than 1.5 hectares. They are farmed and harvested separately, resulting in wines that reflect the character of 23 distinct soil types. The `Meteora` Malbec hails from four plots within ‘Jardín de Hormigas’. Originally intended to offer a more straightforward style of Malbec from this vineyard, the final wine is quite the opposite, offering a diverse and complex expression, with Tim Atkin awarding it 97 points in his 2025 Argentina Special Report. The ‘Los Amantes’ Malbec is sourced from a 1.2-hectare single plot in the southern part of ‘Jardín de Hormigas’. The wine is aged in untoasted 3,500-litre French oak foudres for 15 months before a second ageing of 12 months in bottle. Awarded 98 points by Tim Atkin for the 2022 vintage, this wine is elegant and aromatic, with a delicate freshness from the silt-rich topsoil.