Description

Belasco de Baquedano Llama Malbec

Juan Ignacio Belasco was born in Viana, Spain, to a family of distillers that, dating back to 1831, carved a niche in the production of Pacharan, a slow berry-anise liqueur. In the late 1980’s, Juan Ignacio entered the wine business by purchasing vineyards and building a winery in the Navarra region of Spain. In the early 1990’s, Juan Ignacio became infatuated with the Malbec variety of grapes. With the assistance of renowned wine consultant and former Mouton Rothschild head winemaker Bertrand Bourdil (awarded three 100-point scores from Robert Parker for his Mouton Rothschild vintages 1982, 1986 and 1988), explored Argentina for more than a decade in search for exceptional vineyards to create equally exceptional Malbec wines. They eventually discovered and purchased 222 acres of old vine Malbec vineyards, owned by an Italian family who sold their grapes under contract to the surrounding wineries in the Lujan de Cuyo region of Mendoza. In 2003, with the assistance of his son Mikel, on property adjacent to the 100-year-old vineyards, Juan Ignacio began construction of Belasco de Baquedano Winery completing it, and vinting winery’s first vintage, in 2008. Juan Ignacio passed away 2017 but Mikel continues his father’s passion to create some of the finest Malbec wines in the world.

Situated 3,346 feet above sea level, the natural growing conditions are ideal for the production of premium wines. Warm days are offset by cool nights, plunging by as much as 45ºF. With very little rainfall throughout the growing season, the vines still benefit from the close proximity of the Andes fueling the Mendoza River. In all of Mendoza, Lujan De Cuyo, the Agrelo district is considered one of the most important growing sites throughout Argentina. Often referenced as “The Golden Mile”, the sandy fine-grained soils rest atop silt and clay deposits and are considered some of the best in the province.

LLAMA as its namesake, this wine embodies the distinctive spirit of our vineyards, spanning the foothills of the Andes. This Malbec was aged for six months on 3-year-old French Oak Barrels and then placed in bottles to age for a minimum of six additional months.

Belasco de Baquedano Llama Malbec Notes For The Senses:

• APPEARANCE: Dark cherry with violet hues
• AROMA: Cherries, blackberries and plums and toasty oak
• TASTE: Warm, rounded and well-structured notes of red and dark berries
• FINISH: Long and persistent
• ABV: 14%