Michelini i Mufatto Malbec ‘La Cautiva’Michelini i Mufatto Malbec ‘La Cautiva’
WHY WE LOVE IT
- Malbec from lots of 1 and 0.5 hectares within Agrícola La Cautiva, in Gualtallary, Uco Valley, at 1,550 meters above sea level, on 60 centimeters of sand and gravel over calcium carbonate and granite.
- Made from the winery’s home vineyard, one of its Vinos de Dominio, alongside Óleo and La Cuni.
- Organically farmed vineyard.
Varietal: 100% Malbec
Elaboration: The grapes are hand-harvested from vines trained on a vertical shoot positioning trellis. About 30% of the fruit ferments as whole clusters trodden by foot. The wine stays on its skins for 30 days after fermentation, then ages 24 months in foudres.
Tasting Notes: Red fruit and floral notes, with a soft texture and great depth. Refined tannins and a savory finish.
PRESS
2022 – 95 James Suckling | 94 Tim Atkins | 94+ Wine Advocate | 92 Vinous
2023 – 95 |James Suckling | 95 Vinoua
2024 – 96 James Suckling
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
Michelini i Mufatto is a family winery in Gualtallary, high in Argentina’s Uco Valley, built around a single organically farmed vineyard — Agrícola La Cautiva — at 1,550 meters in thin granite and limestone soils. Wines ferment in concrete and age in used barrels and foudres, with each soil-defined parcel vinified separately. The whites draw on old vines, including a 120-year-old Semillon block and a Chenin Blanc vineyard planted in 1970.
Before this project, Gerardo Michelini helped establish Zorzal with his brothers, one of the wineries credited with putting Gualtallary’s high-altitude terroir on the map. He came to wine through architecture and banking, and now runs Michelini i Mufatto with his wife, Andrea Mufatto, and their son, Manu. The family also makes wine in Bierzo, Spain.