Archaval-Ferrer Winery Information and Review

Too often it seems that the French wine press as well as wine critics and bloggers across the world say that terrior is a French concept only and that only French wines can show a sense of place. One specific example of a winery, outside of France that is working to fight this glaring misconception is Achaval-Ferrer, a winery located in Mendoza Argentina.

In France the idea of terrior is that the wine expresses a sense of place, in Argentina the concept is very similar, but contains one significant difference, they believe that man belongs to the land he is from, not the other way around. This is an interesting concept and I think leads to some of the more single vineyard wines which are not being produced across the world, with special care within Mendoza, Argentina.

Achaval-Ferrer, like almost all Argentinean wineries is famous the world over for their outstanding Malbec. They craft many different single vineyard versions of Malbec that cost anywhere from $25 up to well over $100. Of special note is their Finca Bella Vista vineyard Malbec which retails for about $75, but has received a score of 94-97 points from major wine critics. Scores that highly very rarely offer wine which is under $250 a bottle as those scores are truly collectible wines that are meant to be cellared for a number of years. In a more entry level price point, Achaval-Ferrer offers a generic Mendoza labeled Malbec. This means that the grapes are only sourced from Mendoza, but no significant percentage comes from a single vineyard. One of the best values of any internationally recognized Argentinean Malbec, this blend is often scored at over 90 points by famed wine critic Robert Parker and retails in the United States for under $20. If you’re unfamiliar with Malbec, this is a great place to start when discovering this interesting and native grape to Argentina.