Full-bottle fruitiness of Altos Las Hormigas

SOUTH America's food-friendly wines are gaining attention for their generous fruit and herbal flavours.

FOREIGN colonists have always brought with them what they treasured most when traversing the seas to the end of the earth.

In the case of Roman and British invaders to France and Australia, some of their most valued passengers were young grapevines, no doubt to feed and water the colonists so far away from their homes. The same could be said in South America, where invading Spaniards began importing grapevines more than 450 years ago. While those vines have always flourished, creating wines for consumption by the local population, it is only in recent years that they have begun to gain the world's attention with significant vineyards now situated in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

South America is a special and unique place for growing grapes and, in turn, their wines speak strongly of their origins. While the old world countries of France, Italy and Spain generally create wines with a savoury edge, South American wines are known for their generous fruit-forward styles, often with marked herbal characters.

The prevailing climate and high altitude of the Andes, which run close to South America's western coast, are instrumental in the regional wine styles. Chile, on the western side of the Andes, is exposed to the cool winds drawn off the Pacific Ocean, making for elegant wines. For Argentina, the Andes provide a barrier to much of the Pacific-inspired humidity, which makes for much hotter and drier conditions and wines that are particularly rich in flavour and generosity.

The majority of vineyards in both Chile and Argentina are also at significant altitude. While elevation helps to cool the vines, it also increases the sunlight's intensity, making for ripe grapes and bright, pure fruit flavours. It is this fruit purity, richness and power that are hallmarks of the wines from Argentina.

It is these unique characters, and the little tapped potential of Argentina, that have winemakers from around the world attempting to tame it, including Australians Blair Poynton, Rob Bates-Smith and Tom Egan, who spend part of their year in Argentina overseeing production of their own Jed wines. Perhaps the most formidable group is the team behind Altos Las Hormigas. In 1995 Italian entrepreneur Antonio Morescalchi and winemaker Alberto Antonini travelled to Argentina looking to establish a new enterprise.

While Morescalchi had more than a passing interest in wine, his partner Antonini could hardly have been more qualified. Having studied in Bordeaux, Florence and California, Antonini had risen to be chief winemaker at Antinoni, one of Italy's most illustrious wineries, while working at his family estate Poggiotondo. In more recent times, Antonini has spread his wings internationally, including as a partner in the highly successful Greenstone from Heathcote in Victoria.

Altos Las Hormigas was established in Mendoza - the heart and soul of Argentinian wine. The region is a semi-desert with a wide daily temperature range, which is also blessed with a range of microclimates. The winery sources fruit from two of these - the lower and warmer Lujan de Cuyo with its blockbuster, sweet fruit style as well as the cooler and slightly higher Valle de Uco, which the team believes creates more aromatic, complex and age-worthy wines. There is almost a sense of elegance in the wines from Valle de Uco, a charge bestowed upon precious few Argentinian wines.

While many Argentinian wineries plant a whole range of grape varieties, such as cabernet sauvignon and merlot, Altos Las Hormigas is very much dedicated to the local specialities - bonarda and the illustrious malbec. While malbec was originally grown in southwest France, it is in Argentina that its most charismatic wines are crafted; they are often reminiscent of satsuma plums and blackberry, with a slight rustic edge. Malbec also provides the perfect medium to translate the South American geography and climate, which it does in densely coloured and generously flavoured yet savoury wines.

Malbec is not a wine ever likely to be accused of restraint but in its teeth-staining package lie layers of moreish, fleshy mouth-filling fruit, which certainly complements the local meat-centric diet that Argentinians are justifiably famous for.

Altos Las Hormigas Malbec Clasico 2012
A super introduction to Argentina and malbec, this trophy-winning wine shows pretty yet intense dark cherry and earthy fruits that are fleshy and underpinned by spicy old oak. Lush fruit in the mouth are well complemented by grainy tannins and it finishes with attractive length.

Altos Las Hormigas Vista Flores Malbec 2007
Sourced from the Valle di Uco the Vista Flores marks the pinnacle from Altos Las Hormigas. Despite its significant age, the wine remains youthful and dense with layers of licorice, blackberry and floral fruits backed by a little aged, cedary complexity. Full-bodied with rich fruit and prominent tannins, it is not yet ready to drink but will certainly reward a decade or more in the cellar.

Altos Las Hormigas Colonia La Liebres Bonarda Reserve 2011
Bonarda, despite its French origins, has also become an Argentinian speciality. This example shows a deep colour followed by plush, ripe blackberry and herbal fruits. Dry with intense fruit and fresh acidity, it finishes long with grainy tannin making for a very food-friendly style.