Finca La Anita

Finca La Anita sits in Alto Agrelo, in the Luján de Cuyo region of Mendoza, where the Andes cast their shadow over vineyards that stretch toward the mountains. The estate was founded in 1992 by Manuel Mas, a chemical engineer who returned to his birthplace with a vision that seemed almost crazy at the time. Agrelo was abandoned back then. The big families had ripped out their vines in the 1970s and 1980s when Argentina's wine industry chased volume over quality. Mas bought 72 hectares of what he called a divine estate facing the mountains and found only one old Syrah vineyard from 1947 still standing. The rest was leased to farmers growing tomatoes and garlic.

The terroir here is special. At around 1,100 meters above sea level, the vineyards sit on alluvial and clay-rich soils with virtually no organic matter, which forces the vines to dig deep and express themselves purely. The thermal amplitude is dramatic. Days are hot, nights are cold, and the irrigation comes from Andean snowmelt and underground wells. Between 1992 and 1995, Mas planted Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc across the property. He was a pioneer, one of the first in Argentina to focus exclusively on premium wines when everyone else was still thinking in bulk.

In 2016, Swiss winemaker Bernard Fontannaz purchased Finca La Anita. Fontannaz comes from the Les Celliers de Vétroz family in Switzerland's Valais region and founded Origin Vineyards, a project connecting premium estates in Switzerland, Argentina and South Africa. Manuel Mas stayed on as brand ambassador, keeping the soul of the place alive. The winemaking team includes Denis Vicino and Richard Bonvin, a Swiss oenologist who studied at Changins and worked across Brazil, Chile and South Africa before landing in Mendoza in 2004. The philosophy is straightforward: respect the vineyard, harvest by hand, and let the terroir speak. The vines average 30 years old and grow on their original rootstock, giving the wines a genetic diversity you don't find in vineyards planted with commercial clones.

Finca La Anita produces a range of wines that span from approachable everyday bottles to serious age-worthy cuvées. The lineup includes varietal Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and a rosé. There's also Gran Corte, a red blend that changes each vintage depending on what the year gives, typically built around Malbec with Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The top expression is Luna Single Vineyard Malbec, aged in French oak and sourced from specific parcels across the estate. The wines have earned solid scores from critics like James Suckling, Decanter and Wine Enthusiast, consistently landing in the 90-point range. They age in a mix of French and American oak, usually for 12 months, then rest in bottle before release. The style is balanced, fruit-driven but structured, with enough grip to evolve over time.