Crozier: Salta home to ‘some of the most terroir specific wines in the world’

Mendoza might be its heartland, but the Calchaqui Valley in northern Argentina is the region to watch, believes wine director of restaurant chain Gaucho and Argentine-ophile Phil Crozier, who says it is home not only to some of the most unique wines in Argentina, but the world.

Vineyards in Cafayate, Salta

The Calchaquí Valley in northern Argentina crosses the provinces of Catamarca, Tucumán, Jujuy and Salta. However its most prominent winemaking region is Salta, home to the subregions of Cafayate, Molinos, Payogasta and Angastaco.

Here, the “queen” of the white varieties is Torrontes, while the production of Tannat remains a source of local pride for winemakers. Both varieties have seen a revival in recent years, with winemakers producing increasingly elegant and refined examples of both variety as knowledge or terroir and sites at higher altitude has improved.

“For me it’s my favourite place in the world,” explained Crozier, wine director at Argentine restaurant chain Gaucho, during a masterclass on the region at his Piccadilly restaurant in London yesterday alongside sommelier Paz Levinson. “It’s a magic place and we are going to be tasting some of the most terroir specific wines in the world. No wines anywhere in the world are going to taste like these wines. They are totally unique.

“Winemakers know their terroir but they are in the process of discovering it too and are looking at soils,” adds Crozier. “It is a wonderfully diverse place. From the point of selling wine I think we have an advantage over everyone else in Argentina. If you want to taste wines from the highest place in the world, who is not going to want to do that?”

Colomé’s Altura Maxima vineyard in Payogasta sits at 3,000m above sea level and is currently the world’s highest vineyard, with winemakers working to produce some of the country’s most expensive examples of Argentine Sauvignon Blanc.

While wines from Salta account for just 2% of Argentina’s total wine production, Crozier revealed that around 25% of wine sales across Gaucho, which is known for its all-Argentine list, are from Salta.

“Wines from the valley are big wines, but we do sell these wine on the basis that they are going to be intense and powerful,” explains Crozier. “There’s a lot people that like that, especially when you have an hour and a half or two hours for lunch – I want something that’s expressive from the word go. In the last few years we have seen more elegance in the wine but you can’t escape the fact that these are big powerful wines.”

The moon-like landscape of Salta

Hand sell 

While Salta is known for its traditional red varieties, including Bonarda and Tannat, it is with its whites, and Torrontes in particular, that it has established its reputation.

“The whites are having an interesting evolution because we don’t speak only about Torrontes but also we have Sauvignon Blanc and also Chardonnay,” said Levinson. “The queen of the whites is Torrontes. I really like the intense aromatic expression of the wine being very dry and very fresh.”

Speaking to the drinks business earlier this year, Jose Lovaglio, winemaker at Susana Balbo, shared his belief that Torrontes as a variety was capable of producing high-end Argentina whites, using its in a blend and experimenting with barrel fermentation.   

“Having Torrontes in the blend gives Argentina identity,” he told the drinks business. “It’s important that we can achieve this style of wines. They are getting more and more recognised, first by the press and then eventually sommeliers and after that the general public. We think that if we can achieve that with the variety we can start to be recognised as a category for high end whites – that’s the main goal.

“I really think it is the future. We really believe in these wines and we love the feedback we are getting. We are getting access to markets that we just can’t access with Malbec. This is the beginning of everything, it is high end and needs to age and we need to wait a little bit.”

Despite growing interest, Torrontes remains a “hand sell”, admits Crozier.

“I remember the first Torrontes I sold in 1999, I think there was only one,” he recalls. “It was a completely different wine then to what it is now,” with overtly floral and pungent examples once common, and still available, adding: “It is a hand sell, but I sell a lot.”

“If someone wants a white wine I tell the staff to offer a Torrontes. I didn’t used to do that. I think that because a lot of people are now drinking Sauvignon Blanc that they more receptive to Torrontes. I see it in the supermarkets more, but it’s very much a hand sell. But it’s a nice wine to sell because 95% of people really like it and have never had it before.

“I was in Edinburgh recently and someone came in and asked for a Torrontes. That’s the first time that’s happened. It’s only in the last few years that people have become receptive.”

Gaucho director of wine Phil Crozier

Back to its roots

On the red side Tannat, a high tannin variety also associated with Uruguay, is one of Salta’s calling cards, along with the lesser-known Criolla (Grande) – a crossing of the grape varieties Mission and Muscat of Alexandria with – comparable to Chile’s Pais.

“For me [Bodega El Porvenir de Cafayate Labrorum] has been one of the defining wines that has brought Tannat to the attention of consumers,” said Crozier. “For me [Salta] is one of the best places in the world for Tannat. It has an opulence and a richness and these wines age beautifully.

“Tannat, like Torrontes, is very much a hand sell but when people like Malbec I think its very easy to take them from Malbec to Tannat because of the opulence and richness of the fruit. They can be a little rustic in a good way. They really are of the earth these wines because of the extreme nature of their terroir.”

Examples of Criolla meanwhile are also beginning to re-emerge, despite it being one of the oldest in the country, as winemakers turn their attention to the past. The grape is believed to be a descendant of the Spanish “common black grape” brought to Mexico in 1520 by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés.

“It’s not only about Malbec, there is tremendous history in Criolla,” notes Levinson. “It’s the oldest vineyard you can see in the world nearly, made in a Pinot Noir, red fruit driven style with a little bit more tannin I really like. There are more and more Criolla coming out of Argentina so it’s a wine to be aware of.”