2018 Argentina (Mendoza) Vintage

A cold winter was followed by late budbreak in the spring, a dry growing season and an early harvest. Speaking for Argentina as a whole, Walter Bressia, president of Bodegas de Argentina, put it this way: "There weren't rains, the day temperatures were warm and the nights were cool." Rainfall across Mendoza's wine regions was 30% lower than the annual average. Sebastian Zuccardi of Familia Zuccardi put it this way: "The dry weather gave us cold nights and a very good thermal amplitude." Two events stood out. An intense hailstorm in the higher altitudes of the Uco Valley caused Matias Michelini and several other producers to lose fruit, and Susana Balbo of Dominio del Plata remarked: "The only challenge was a very early frost during harvesttime." Harvest in Mendoza came on average two weeks early. Mendoza's 2018 grape crop came to 17,151,351 quintales, up 35.9% on 2017, against a 2009 to 2018 average of 16,111,747 quintales.

• Mendoza rainfall 30% below the annual average
• Intense hail in the higher Uco Valley; a very early frost at harvest time
• Mendoza picked on average two weeks early; crop up 35.9% on 2017

Argentina's 2018 grape harvest came to 25,733,114 quintales, up 31% on 2017, a recovery after a historically low 2016 harvest. Wine production reached 14,521,510 hectolitres, up 23% on 2017. Nationally, Malbec was the second-largest variety at 4,121,573 quintales, behind Cereza. The greatest gains came in the Cuyo region (Mendoza and San Juan), which had been adversely affected in recent years. San Juan harvested 7,140,313 quintales, up 27.6% on 2017.

• Argentina: 25,733,114 quintales, up 31% on 2017
• Mendoza: 17,151,351 quintales, up 35.9% on 2017
• Malbec: 4,121,573 quintales nationally, second only to Cereza

Wine Spectator headlined its report that Argentina's vintners saw the best quality since 2013. Laura Catena of Catena Zapata called 2018 the Mendoza year, "a vintage that is classically Mendozan: dry, cool, sunny and with moderate yields in every region from the lowest to the highest altitudes." Santiago Achaval of Matervini called 2013 the benchmark against which to value the 2018s, and Sebastian Zuccardi expected 2018 to rank among the greatest harvests in Mendoza, at the level of 2013 or better. Balbo called 2018 a real relief after three short vintages, with normal quantities. Yields normalised, up to 40% higher than the limited 2017 harvest.

• Laura Catena (Catena Zapata): "dry, cool, sunny", with moderate yields at every altitude
• Santiago Achaval (Matervini) and Sebastian Zuccardi both measured 2018 against 2013
• Susana Balbo: normal quantities, a real relief after three short vintages

Michelini put the character of the wines as "full maturation, with healthy grapes, intense colours; very expressive and muscular," with Malbec standing out for wines of great intensity and character. Catena Zapata winemaker Alejandro Vigil called the reds "really balanced in terms of acidity," with "an elevated malic acidity and a spectacular tartaric balance with respect to the alcohol," and the whites "fine and lean with a medium concentration."

• Reds: "an elevated malic acidity" and a "spectacular tartaric balance" (Alejandro Vigil)
• Whites: "fine and lean with a medium concentration" (Vigil)
• Michelini: "very expressive and muscular" wines, Malbec of great intensity

Conditions were only slightly less optimal in Salta and Cafayate, where cold weather at the beginning and end of the growing season reduced yields; at Bodega Colome, in the far north of Salta, the harvest was down about 10 percent on normal. At Colome, a cloudy summer with low rain left very healthy fruit and Malbec ripened more slowly. In Cafayate, conditions were generally warmer but quite dry, and Alejandro Papa of El Esteco called it a spectacular harvest for quality and quantity, with a cool summer and a warmer April. Decanter's account differs: northern yields and conditions were consistent with the annual average, especially in Cafayate and Chilecito. In Patagonia, a spate of spring and autumn frosts cut production but quality was high.

• Salta and Cafayate: cold weather at the start and end of the season reduced yields
• Northern yields near the annual average, especially Cafayate and Chilecito, in Decanter's account
• Patagonia: spring and autumn frosts cut volume, quality high