During a visit last year at Francis Mallmann’s restaurant “Siete Fuegos” in Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina, we were introduced to the private vineyards at The Vines, a 600 hectares estate were wine lovers have the possibility to own 1-10 acres of a professionally managed vineyard to make wine under the guidance expert, top rated Argentine winemakers, such as Mariana Onofri and consulting winemaker Santiago Achaval.
And so it was that earlier this year we purchased one acre of Malbec planted in 2007 at this wonderful place and began the long journey from wine lovers to wine makers. Our Wine Making Plan for 2023 includes three types of Super Premium Malbec: one barrel fermented and two fermented in steel tanks, one half matured in first use French oak barrels and the other in third use barrels. The first harvest took place this March and the blending session will be in November later this year. We look forward to taste our (still very young) wines and experiment (we’re scientists, right?) with different combinations among them and together with other varietals, such as Cabernet Franc. We wanted to make this a very personal voyage and so our label simply carries our names, IBAÑEZ – MOLINER, and the design team is helping us coming up with a label that embodies our personal esthetics and inspiration. The Wine Making Plan for 2024 is already on the way and the focus will be to widen our portfolio with one harvested rosé based on Cabernet Franc and a young and fruit-forward Malbec from our own grapes. We hope for a great harvest in March next year. More soon…