Mendel is a true boutique winery in the Lujan de Cuyo district of the Mendoza region. They produce four wines; Blend 'Unus', Malbec (Finca Remota - extremely limited and the basico), and Semillon (new for 2009) for a total of approximately 5000 cases annually. The head wine maker is the well respected Argentine Roberto de la Mota and an old Argentine family (Jewish / Italian) maintains the majority ownership of the winery.
The winery itself is located on a dirt road which runs parallel to RT40 off of the main exit in Lujan. If you drive by too fast you would mistake it for a home and not a winery.
In fact, they operate in the original adobe structure from the early 1900's. It has been retrofitted on the inside and the original cement fermentation tanks are now used to store barrels.
Though we were over half an hour late for our tour and tasting, we were still warmly greeted by Cecilia (head of tourism). She had already completed the tour but asked us to join the tasting and then we would tour afterwards.
The tasting consisted of the Semillon 2009, Unus 2007 (yet to be released), two Malbecs (yet to be released 2008 and yet to be bottled 2009). Unfortunately, our tasting notes were lost for this visit so our comments are very limited. One thing to note is that we really enjoyed the energy of Cecilia and the conviction of the limited production process at Mendel. That alone made it a favorite for us.
Semillon 2009 - We thought it had similar features to a Sauvignon Blanc such as citrus flavors but perhaps not as crisp and more rounded.
Unus 2007 - Young and full of tannins. They are currently on the 2006 release so it should show much better upon release. Though our recommendation is buy the 2004 now and enjoy over the next 5 years.
Malbec 2008 - Young but good structure. This wine will be released this summer.
Malbec 2009 - A baby. I could not tell you from this tasting if the wine will be good or bad upon release. Side by side, the 2008 was darker in color with structure and body that the 2009 did not posses.
Though we did not try the 2004 at the winery, it had received 93 points from Wine Spectator. Based on 2007 tasting, I decided that it would worth the gamble. For USD43, this ended up being one of our more expensive purchases in Mendoza but it was well worth it. They blend 30% Cabernet Sauvignon into this wine which really adds depth and balance to the red fruits that a Malbec displays.
As noted above, the Malbec 2008 bottles had not even been capped or labeled when we toured the winery.
The highlight from the tour outside of the history of the winery and antique wine making equipment was the discussion about their flood irrigation practices. They focus on a very controlled irrigation process block by block to manage the size and intensity of the berries.
For Dagny, the highlight was negotiating the Malbec berries tasting!
Recap:
Winery
Lujan de Cuyo, Small Production, Strick Farming Practices, MUST VISIT
Wines
Finca Remota, Not tasted so no QPR
Unus 2007, QPR High (but cellar for a few years upon release)
Malbec 2008 and 2009, QPR High
Semillon 2009, QPR Mid
What we bought to drink
Unus 2004, USD43, QPR Very High (cellar worthy)
Contacts
