El Enemigo, 2012 Gran Enemigo Gualtallary Cabernet Franc, Mendoza, Argentina
El Enemigo was established by legendary winemaker and agronomist Alejandro Vigil and Argentinian wine royalty Adrianna Catena in 2008. The idea was born out of a desire to experiment and showcase terroir by charting a slightly unconventional course though still anchored in their mutual passion to showcase the character of their vineyards.
While El Enemigo has since expanded its range to include other varieties, Cabernet Franc was the focus from the beginning and remains at the core of El Enemigo today. Alejandro describe's Cabernet Franc as El Enemigo's backbone, and they chose it to be the centre of the brand because of the grape's ability to be a mirror for terroir - something I believe the grape is capable of as well.
Today the winery is working with around 60 hectares of Cabernet Franc across their vineyards in the Uco Valley and Luján de Cuyo, and they produce 5 Cabernet Francs, 4 of which are part of the Gran Enemigo range from single-vineyard sites in the regions of Agrelo in Lujan de Cuyo, and from the Uco Valley, the sub-regions of Los Chacayes, El Cepillo, and perhaps the most famous of all the Gran Enemigo wines the Gualtallary Cabernet Franc, and the first vintage of this wine was 2010.
So today's wine is taking us to the Uco Valley, and more specifically the sub-region of Gualtallary. While the Uco Valley's history can be traced back over 300 years, it has really only emerged as a powerhouse region in the last 25 years as drip irrigation became more readily available and winemakers shifted their focus towards quality as opposed to quantity, seeking out cooler sites with less vigourous soils.
Stretching about 125km from north to south, the Uco Valley can be divided into 3 sub-regions: Tupungato in the north, Tunuyán and then San Carlos in the south, which have a combined nearly 30,000 hectares under vine, with Malbec representing about 55% of plantings. However, this is the most important region for Cabernet Franc in Mendoza, with about 756 hectares, which represents about 55% of the planting of Cabernet Franc in Mendoza.
Located in Tupungato, the sub-region of Gualtallary is likely not only the most famous sub-region in the Uco Valley, but perhaps even all of Argentina which is very impressive considering it was only first planted to vine in 1992. Despite this prestige, Gualtallary is not yet an official GI, but it is in progress. And one of the reasons for this is this region's diversity in terms of terroirs. In fact, some producers are proposing that Gualtallary should be divided into 4 if not 5 separate GIs.
The main vineyard area, which ranges in elevation from 1080m to around 1600m above sea level, stretches around 15km from east to west, and around 10km from north to south at its widest point, with the Las Tunas River marking the region's southern border. And there is around 2250 hectares under vine.
Gualtallary can be roughly divided into two zones. We have the lowest elevation zones, ranging from around 1100 to 1300m above sea level in the eastern most part of the region, where the climate would be characterized as a Winkler III to II, that is similar to that of Rioja and the Northern Rhone to Bordeaux. Here is soils are a mix of sand and clay, with some gravels closer to the Las Tunas River, and virtually no calcareous materials. This area has become known for producing softer, fruitier wines but with balanced freshness.
As you move west, you get into the Andean foothills you get into the "crus" of Gualtallary, namely the zones know as Gualtallary Alto and Gualtallary Monasterio. Here the vineyards at the higher elevations from 1350 to 1550, and the climate would be classified as a Winkler Ib to 1a, similar to that of Champagne, Burgundy, the Willamette Valley or the Loire Valley. Here the soils are quite poor, and can be a mix of sandy-loams and silt-loams with a high concentration of large, calcium-carbonate covered river stones, with some vineyards having upwards of 40% limestone content in the soils. These areas are known for producing wines with tension, focus, and firmer tannins and bright acidities.
Drilling down to today's wine, it is worth noting that El Enemigo is one of the most significant producers of Cabernet Franc in Gualtallary working with around 34 hectares of Cabernet Franc vines, with 27 hectares in the Gualtallary Medio zone, and about 7 hectares in the Gualtallary Alto zone, which is where their Gran Enemigo Gualtallary Cabernet Franc is coming from. So this wine is from about 4.7 hectares of vines in the Adrianna Vineyard, which is owned by Catena Zapata. The vineyard is located at around 1470m above sea level, just on the edge of where the Gualtallary Alto meets the Gualtallary Monestario sub-zones. The vines were planted by massale selection in 1994 at a very high density, around 10,000 vines per hectare. In terms of soil, it is a mix of silt and sand, with a high concentration of large glacial river stones that have a high calcareous content, giving the soils a pH of about 7.4. The vineyard is farmed sustainably with drip irrigation installed, and it has been farmed certified organic since 2018.
From a winemaking perspective for the 2012 vintage, the fruit is all hand-harvested in 5 different passes through the vineyard taking place over the course of about 6 weeks. 70% of the fruit is destemmed, with 30% whole clusters, and the fruit undergoes a cold soak for about 5 days in advance of alcoholic fermentation. The alcoholic fermentation is with indigenous yeast in concrete tanks, with the fermentation temperature hovering around 22C. Their approach to maceration is infusion with occasional wetting of the cap, and the total time on skins is around 23 days. The free run and press wines are then aged in 100 year-old foudres for around 15 months.
Key wine facts below:
Producer: El Enemigo
Region: Mendoza
Sub-Region: Uco Valley (Tupungato)
Sub-Region: Gualtallary
Vineyard: Adrianna Vineyard
Soil: Sandy-silt loam, with high proportion of large calcareous stones throughout
Alcohol: 13.9%
