A cold wet, windy day greeted us on day 2. As we donned our raincoats and braved the howling gale many of us wondered just how lovely the outdoor asado was going to be. This was our Mauricio Lorca day. Mauricio is one of Argentina’s most respected wine makers and consults for many of the country’s top estates as well as running his own operation just south of Mendoza.
We were hosted by Gabriela Zavala, winemaker and production manager, and she was terrific!
The winery was buzzing with activity, just as it was four years ago when I first visited. Growth for Lorca has been rapid and it really shows.
After a quick chat in the staff canteen – no glossy tourist facilities here yet as they are still being built – we headed into the cellar.
Tank tasting is always fun and informative as you get to taste the raw material – in this case Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec from the 2015 vintage in cement. Vibrantly fruity and fresh wines, we started to build our understanding of the different layers of quality within the estate. We moved onto some intense Petit Verdot and then tasted some Malbec from the 2014 vintage that had spent a year in new oak. This was fascinating as the oaky characteristics were a start contrast to the earlier unoaked wines.
We switched to Plan B for the barbeque. The weather was not conducive to alfresco dining so Gabriela arranged for us to go to La Vacherie Golf and Country Club which was not far from the winery. Here Gabriela hosted a fabulous tasting of nine wines that illustrated the amazing depth of quality that pervades Mauricio Lorca’s wines.
Entry level is the Fantasia range – crisp, clean fruity wines mainly unoaked. Opalo is the next grade followed by Poetico, Gran Poetico and finally the awesome Inspirado. Torrontes, Viognier, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and a number of blends were tasted and they were superb at every level.
We continued to enjoy these wines over lunch in what was an extremely enjoyable day and a definite triumph over the weather!
