Specials

On a sunny Tokyo afternoon, while the Japanese capital carried on at its normal frantic pace, time seemed to stand still in the Hotel Sheraton Miyako for the Japan Wine Challenge 2008, Asia’s most prestigious wine competition. Everyone present wanted to know which wines would win the coveted medals. In the end, four wines from Latin America were represented on the winner’s podium, from Argentina to be more precise, and two of them from the same label: Trapiche.

The Trapiche vineyard was established in 1883 in the Godoy Cruz area of the Mendoza Province, and the two wines, among the more than 1,700 wines from 27 countries, which were submitted for this prestigious competition and that won silver medals were Broquel Malbec 2006 and Trapiche Oak Cask Malbec 2006.

The first of these is a 100% Malbec variety produced from vines that are more than 25 years old, and are growing at altitudes of between 900 and 1,200 meters above sea level. Fermentation and maceration take place over a period of 25 days in small cement vats at temperatures of between 23 and 25°C. The wine is then put to mature in new barrels of French oak, for a further 15 months.

These processes are carried out with the care and attention to detail of a scientific experiment, but also with the delicate touch demanded by any work of art. The result is a wine of intense red color with ruby highlights, with the scent of forest fruit jam and liquor and an elegant touch of smoke, vanilla and chocolate. In the mouth, the wine produces an instant sweetness with full bodied tannins and has a long and pleasing finish.

Its fellow medal winner – the Oak Cask Malbec 2006, also known as Malbec Roble– is a wine produced from vineyards grown at between 750 and 1,100 meters above sea level, and is also fermented and macerated for more than 25 days. However, as distinct from the Broquel Malbec, this wine is matured for a period of 12 months in barrels of French and American oak. This gives the wine an intense violet red color and its sweet aromas of mulberries and plums, with a hint of smoke and vanilla. On the palate it has a clearly defined velvety texture, with a long, sweet finish.

The house of Trapiche can justly be very proud of the achievements of its Oak Cask and Broquel wines, and it boasts of being the most significant Argentine vineyard in the world. After all, its products are currently sold in more than 80 countries. However, it is worth pointing out that this is not the only recognition earned by its wines in recent years. As recently as 2006, it won the prize for the best winery in Argentina for the second time, at the Wine and Spirits Competition in London.

These awards are eloquent evidence of the quality of the wines produced by the Trapiche winery, which are characterized by their fruitiness and high concentrations of aroma and color. They are all fermented in oak barrels, where fruit and wood achieve perfect symbiosis. Their character is also clearly influenced by the quality of the Argentine soil, the careful work of those who tend the vines and harvest the grapes and of course the advanced technology applied to cultivating the vines.

One example of this is the use of airborne imaging over the 1,000 hectares of vineyards that make up the Trapiche estate, which is used to identify areas of land that share similar rates of fertility. This collection of data allows the vine growers to make better decisions about irrigation and pruning and to take more accurate samples. This technology does not for one moment replace the traditional processes for cultivating grapes, but rather complements them.

This combination of modern technology and traditional knowledge has produced a portfolio of wines that not only includes those that won awards in Japan but also Trapiche Medalla, Trapiche Malbec Single Vineyard, Trapiche Iscay and Trapiche Varietales. All are exquisite; each has its own personality and individual palate signature. All come from a tradition stretching back more than 125 years, which was recognized in the silver medals awarded at the Japan Wine Challenge 2008.