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Harvest 2006: Argentina Continues Its Roll

A major hailstorm is the lone blemish in a cool, dry growing season

James Molesworth

Posted: Friday, June 09, 2006

In 2006, Argentina continued the strong run of recent vintages that began in 2002. Growers reported excellent results with Malbec, the country's leading variety, as well as with other important grapes, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

"It's early to venture a guess," said Santiago Achával, owner of Achával-Ferrer winery in Mendoza. "But if I had to go by what I tasted in the grapes, I would say 2006 is another excellent harvest for us."

The winter was cooler and wetter than usual, which led to a delayal of the budbreak by about seven to 10 days. The rest of the growing season was moderate, in comparison to hotter years such as 2003 and 2004, so the harvest ran about one week behind normal. Cool, dry weather in March had a particularly dramatic effect on the vintage, slowing the ripening of the grapes.

"The very slow ripening, 80 to 90 days from veraison to harvest, enhances colors and aromas and retains natural acidity," explained Stefano Gandolini, winemaker of Vińa Dońa Paula. In Argentina, a ripening period of 65 to 70 days is normal.

April also featured excellent weather, allowing vintners to pick their grapes at optimum maturity. "All grapes have arrived at the winery in perfect sanitary condition, with great color, aroma and tannins," said Pedro Marchevsky, owner and viticulturalist at Dominio del Plata.

The only blemish on the vintage was a major hailstorm at the end of December that hit more than 4,000 acres of vines in some of the prime spots of Mendoza, including Perdriel, Agrelo, Vistalba and Medrano. Isolated hailstorms are common in the region, so most wineries in Mendoza have vineyards scattered around the area to minimize the effects of losing a particular site's crop to hail. For example, while Achával-Ferrer lost the majority of its production in the Bella Vista vineyard, its other vineyards were not affected.

Despite these crop losses, vintners are happy overall with the consistency of the vintage, putting it on par with 2002 and 2005, other recent strong vintages in Argentina.

Click here for the Argentina Vintage Chart.

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