2020 Mendoza Vintage

Snowfall in Mendoza was the lowest in 20 years, and the province's rivers flowed at 50% of their usual capacity. Frosts struck during budding: in September temperatures fell to -9.1 C in Paraje Altamira and the Uco Valley, and a later cold front brought temperatures below -1 C to the Uco Valley, Primera Zona and the east of Mendoza. Frost affected 9,630 hectares in Mendoza, 2,490 of them completely destroyed. Hail damaged 7,007 hectares completely and 15,553 to some degree. Rainfall across Mendoza's four oases was 50% below average, 113 mm against 252 mm. Some areas of northern Mendoza saw up to five weeks of heat waves above 32 C, and Lujan de Cuyo recorded 55 days above 32 C against a regional average of 30 to 31. In the Uco Valley, March was hotter than February. Heat, lower yields and lack of water brought the harvest forward 2 to 4 weeks, depending on the location. Alta Vista's Pamela Alfonso put the early harvest at 20 days, while Infobae reported maturity advanced by 10 to 40 days across all varieties. Mendoza's grape harvest came to 14,453,947 quintals, down 15.5% on 2019.

Conditions varied across the province. The Northern Oasis holds 60% of Mendoza's vineyards; there, yields were 15% lower than the previous year, and hail and frost were restricted to the east. In Primera Zona, frost rather than hail drove the drop in output: in Perdriel, a frost as low as -1.5 C on 17 October reduced the number of bunches, and yield fell 26% compared to the previous year. In Las Compuertas, the highest and coolest area of Lujan de Cuyo, acidity was slightly higher than the previous year. In Gualtallary, Tupungato, two frosts in mid-October were followed by two large hail storms on 21 November and 3 December, with damage of 40 to 60%. In the south of the Uco Valley, just 80 to 90 mm of rain fell by early February, and grapes reached the required sugar levels 8 to 15 days earlier than normal. San Rafael, in the Southern Oasis, had a dry, early year with considerable drops in yield.

Wines of Argentina called 2020 an unforgettably challenging harvest, brought forward 2 to 4 weeks depending on location and run amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Across most of Argentina, wineries had to press in two months quantities that would ordinarily take four. The wine industry was exempt from the quarantine, and wineries worked with isolated teams. When the quarantine arrived, producers already had more than half their grapes in the wineries.

• Harvest brought forward 2 to 4 weeks depending on location
• The wine industry was exempt from the quarantine, and wineries used isolated work teams
• More than half the grapes were already in the wineries when quarantine arrived

Sugar and phenols developed rapidly while natural acidity held at outstanding levels, especially in reds harvested at the right moment. Fernando Buscema of the Catena Wine Institute put forward the hypothesis that lack of water, more than temperature, was the key factor in accelerating ripeness while preserving acidity. Grupo Penaflor's Marcelo Belmonte called the harvest unique for a hot year in terms of acid preservation, good color and fresh aromas. Bodegas Caro had a Cabernet at pH 3.35 and a Malbec at pH 3.30. It is too early to judge the vintage until the wine is in bottle, Wines of Argentina added.

• Rapid sugar and phenol development with preserved natural acidity
• Catena Wine Institute hypothesis: lack of water drove fast ripening while preserving acidity
• Bodegas Caro: Cabernet at pH 3.35, Malbec at pH 3.30