Achaval Ferrer Winery

This boutique winery traces its history back only to 1998, shortly after the beginning of the Malbec boom in Mendoza. The winery is Argentine and Italian owned, and the winemakers all have decades of experience extending back to far before this project began.
The Achaval Ferrer Winery has four different vineyards on which they grow their grapes, representing four different terriors, from between 700 and 1,100 meters in altitude, with flood irrigation that decreases the chances of phyloxera. In some cases, there are cherry or olive trees lining the vineyards. Grapes are harvested by hand, and in the early morning hours. In case of hail damage (which happens occasionally), damaged grapes are removed from the plants to keep bitterness at bay in the final product. These practices, as well as several others (such as low density of plants), keeps production low, but quality high. 
The Bella Vista Estate in Mendoza’s Luján de Cuyo is on the south bank of the Mendoza River, and this is where Achaval Ferer receives visitors for tastings and winery tours.

Practical Info

The single-vineyard wines from Achaval Ferrer have all scored 94 or above in Wine Spectator ratings for the 2012 vintage, which makes this one of the highest-scoring vineyards in the area.