El Montañista


Francis​co (Pancho) Bugallo and Nuria Añó Gargiulo, the couple behind El Montañista, started farming vines and making wine in Argentina's Calingasta Valley in 2011, fresh out of university. Pancho had studied Agricultural Engineering in Mendoza, and Nuria industrial design. Their first project, Cara Sur, started at the same time. 10 years on, in 2021, the opportunity to farm and make wine from a very special vineyard of 80+ year-old heritage varieties - Paraje Hilario - prompted them to start El Montañista. 

The Calingasta Valley sits in the foothills of the Andes. Very dry, cool, and remote, it has a long history of grape growing. At 1500 meters above sea level and in the rain shadow of the Andes, the bright sun and arid climate suit grapes well, limiting disease pressure and allowing for complete ripening despite the cooler temperatures. 

Paraje Hilario is an almost unique snapshot of the valley's viticultural history. Farmed organically, grazed and fertilized by sheep, and trained in the parral system, it is a place out of time. The vines are still fed by the ancient acequia irrigation ditches, which carry water down from the glaciers of the high Andes. The vineyard's varieties - ancient colonial-period Spanish arrivals (Criolla Chica, a.k.a. Listán Prieto and Moscatel of Alexandria) and their offspring (Torrontes and others) are joined by old Piemonte grapes brought by waves of immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries (Bonarda, Freisa, and more). 

Pancho and Nuria work simply in their cellar, working with concrete vessels, spontaneous fermentations, and without temperature controls. The results are delicate and poised wines that express the long history of vine growing and winemaking in the Calingasta Valley, and the precipitous elevations that differentiate the area. 
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The Wines
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Corte de Blancas is Torrentés Sanjuanino and Torrontés Mendocino (with small amounts of Malvasia and Maticha) from the 80-year-old Paraje Hilario vineyard, planted on quartz-rich colluvial rocks at 1500m in the foothills of the Andes mountains. The grapes were hand harvested, destemmed, and macerated on their skins for the duration of alcoholic fermentation in concrete. This wine was never pressed: just the free run juice was rested in concrete for 7 months before bottling, where it formed a veil of flor.

Corte de Tintas is Criolla Chica (aka Listán Prieto or País), Criolla Grande, Cereza, Canela, and Moscatel Tinto from the 80-year-old Paraje Hilario vineyard, planted on quartz rich colluvial rocks at 1500m in the foothills of the Andes mountains. The grapes were hand harvested and the Criolla Chica was left whole cluster, while 70-75% of the grapes of the other were destemmed. All were crushed by foot and macerated on their skins for the duration of fermentation in concrete vessels without temperature control, before a gentle pressing with a 200kg vertical screw press and seven months of resting in concrete before bottling. 

Viejas Tintas is Barbera, Bonarda, Greco Nero, Rabosso Veronese, Cardin, and Freisa (all old Piemontese varieties) from the 80-year-old Paraje Hilario vineyard, planted on quartz rich colluvial rocks at 1500m in the foothills of the Andes mountains. The grapes were hand harvested and left whole cluster to ferment in concrete vessels without temperature control, in an infusion style inspired by winemakers like Comando G, before gently pressing with a 200kg vertical screw press into concrete to rest for 7 months before bottling. 

Location

General Info

  • Founded: 2021.
  • Region: Calingasta Valley.
  • Town: Barreal.
  • Climate: Cold arid climate in the rain shadow of the Andes mountains, featuring cold winters, warm summers, and a very intense diurnal shift. 
  • Elevation: 1500m
  • Soils: Quartz-rich Colluvium (mixed rocks and sediments deposited from the Andes).
  • Farming: Traditional organic viticulture: the dry, sunny climate negates the need for most treatments, anyways. Irrigated using ancient acequia ditches of glacial runoff.
  • Founders: Francisco Bugallo and Nuria Añó Gargiulo.

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