Bonarda
⏳ Drinking Window
2022 - 2025
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Grilled sausages, roasted pork loin, pasta with rich tomato sauce
✨ Technical Specifications
Though historically overshadowed by Malbec and long relegated to bulk blending, Bonarda has undergone a magnificent renaissance in Argentina, with the Durigutti brothers leading the charge. Originating from the French Alps as Douce Noir, the grape found a second home in the sun-drenched, high-altitude terroirs of Mendoza. Durigutti's expression of this variety showcases its true potential, sourcing fruit from old vines in traditional regions like Luján de Cuyo and eastern Mendoza. By utilizing traditional concrete vats for fermentation and native yeasts, they preserve the grape's signature bright acidity, lush black cherry and plum flavors, and exotic sweet spice notes. This wine represents a bridge between Argentina's rustic viticultural past and its modern, terroir-driven future.
🍾 About the Producer
Durigutti Family Winemakers was established in 2002 by winemaking brothers Héctor and Pablo Durigutti, who sought to champion Argentina's heritage terroirs through precise, artisanal winemaking. Their viticultural base centers on Finca Victoria in Las Compuertas, a historic high-altitude appellation within Luján de Cuyo perched above 1,000 meters along the Mendoza River. Here, ancient alluvial soils rich in silt, gravel, and limestone combine with intense Andean sunshine and marked diurnal shifts, creating optimal conditions for certified organic viticulture. Rejecting heavy-handed intervention, the Durigutti brothers emphasize spontaneous native yeast fermentations, concrete vats, ceramic amphorae, and judicious oak aging to preserve varietal clarity and site transparency. Their portfolio reflects an extraordinary stylistic breadth, anchored by the benchmark Proyecto Las Compuertas Malbec and the icon cuvée Esencia, alongside heritage recovery projects such as Cara Sucia and terroir-driven expressions from regional outposts across Mendoza and San Juan.
🍇 Grapes
Bonarda
🍷 ABV
13.5-14%