Bodega Colome Estate Torrontes

Bodega Colome was established in 1831 by the Spanish Governor of Salta, Nicolas Severo de Isasmendi y Echalar. In 1854, his daughter Ascensión, who was married to Jose Benjamin Davalos, brought the first French pre-phylloxera Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon vines to Colome. Grapes from three vineyards (of four hectares each) planted in that year are still used to make wines. Located in the Upper Calchaqui­ Valley in Salta in the far north of Argentina, not only is Colome the oldest winery in Argentina, but it also claims to own the world's highest vineyard.

Torrontes,

The high altitude of the Calchaqui Valley and greater difference between day and night temperatures, ensures a longer growing season which in turn leads to a more intense accumulation of flavour in the grapes. The large difference (25°C) between day and night also helps retain natural acidity within the grapes. The climate here is dry with very little rainfall, on average around 120 millimetres per year. Soils are sandy with layers of gravel which help drainage. The vineyards are all farmed biodynamically. The Torrontes vines are grown between 1,700 and 2,300 metres above sea level.

The grapes went through a double selection process, firstly in the vineyard and then again on the sorting table at the winery. Fermentation was slow, using selected yeasts at low temperatures to retain the varietal fruit character. The wine was aged in stainless-steel tanks for three months before bottling in July. It then spent a further two months ageing in bottle before release.

Intense gold in colour with green tones, this wine has a bright floral nose of roses with the citrus aroma of grapefruit and a hint of spice. On the palate, it is fresh and well structured with a crisp finish.

Nolan - Text from the Spotlight on the White Wines of the America’s Blog

Now we go East, heading over the peaks of the Andes themselves and into Argentina. We are also going North, into the dry Atacama Desert itself. This is the region of Salta, one of the most extreme wine regions on earth. Multiple vineyards of the Salta region sit at lower latitudes, (closer to the equator), and higher altitudes than anywhere else on Earth. Interestingly, these two factors balance each other out to create an excellent climate for viticulture as the cold temperatures associated with high altitude are mitigated by the high temperatures found at these latitudes.

One key point to make about vines grown in Salta is the solar exposure that all grapes here are subjected to. Salta, sitting in the rain shadow of the Andes has almost no cloud cover, the grapes are bombarded with UV rays which is ideal for red grapes, but less good for most white grapes. The way grapes cope with the high UV is by developing thicker skins. In reds, this translates to more colour pigment, higher tannins and ultimately more flavour. White grapes can suffer in these extremes, but Torrontes grapes have thick skins which need a high degree of solar bombardment to ripen fully. Such is the intensity of sunshine here in Salta, that these grapes still need protection and so are grown in a pergola system, with the fruit bunches hanging below the vine canopy to shelter in the shade provided by the vine leaves.

Torrontes has become Argentina’s national white grape but confusingly, it is in fact not a single varietal and is instead a whole family of grapes including Torrontés Sanjuanino, Torrontés Mendocino and Torrontés Riojano. To add to the confusion, the wines are only usually labelled simply as Torrontes. The highest quality is the Riojano version which is also luckily the most widely planted!

Colome Estate have Torrontes vines planted between 1700 and 2300m above sea level. The vines are grown biodynamically, in the arid region of Salta there is no need for chemical sprays to combat mildew and there are almost no six-legged vineyard pests to control. Despite the many other challenges of growing grapes and making wines at such high altitudes and in such relative isolation, practising biodynamics is just easy to do here.

The intense sunshine and huge 25-degree change in temperature between day and night leads to a quintessential expression of Torrontes. An aromatic explosion is what you should receive from Torrontes, floral elements of jasmine and honeysuckle lead you to believe that this will be a sweet wine, but in reality, the wine is crisp and bracing. The fruit flavours are all citrus, limes and grapefruits which intermingle with the florality and a natural spice making this perfect wine for Thai food. Torrontes with either a green curry or a pad thai are both tried and tested favourite parings of ours. Typically in Argentina, Torrontes is drunk very cold as an aperitif, often served with empanadas, a type of savoury stuffed pastry.