2022 Argentina (Mendoza) Vintage

Mendoza had a cool, dry spring with low snowfall, which meant less water flowing down to a province already suffering severe water shortages. Gabriela Garcia of Bodegas Salentein told Decanter: 'We had a very dry winter and spring with much less dew, as well as very unusual late frosts.' Five frosts were recorded between October and November, some of them severe, in the Uco Valley, the lower areas of Lujan de Cuyo and the east of Mendoza; the INV's estimate points to late frosts in the first week of October 2021. The damage was not apparent at once, but after budding the bunches and ripening speeds were uneven, and yields were hit by as much as 25 percent in some areas and 10 percent across the province on average. Rain arrived at the end of spring, between December and February, within historic parameters in quantity but concentrated into a few weeks, so wineries hurried to bring in their white grapes. The INV also cites hailstorms between December 2021 and February 2022. German Di Cesare of Trivento told Decanter that March arrived with rains that slowed down the reds, but the second half of the month was dry and cool, as was April, so the reds ripened gradually. Right at the end of March a frost, the earliest in living memory according to Decanter, hit several vineyards in the Uco Valley and parts of Lujan de Cuyo, by which time about 90 percent of the grapes were in the wineries. The INV's February estimate put Mendoza's harvest 14 percent below 2021.

Within Mendoza, the spring frosts fell in the Uco Valley, the lower areas of Lujan de Cuyo and the east of Mendoza, where most of Argentina's large-volume winery operations are located. Beyond Mendoza, the INV estimate put San Juan 10 percent lower at 4,800,000 quintales, La Rioja down 9 percent and the southern provinces down 17 percent, with Catamarca up 3 percent and Salta up 14 percent. In San Juan, Paula Gonzalez of Pyros Wines told Decanter of three significant frosts before budding and some powerful hailstorms while the fruit was still green, but said quality was not affected. In Rio Negro, Hans Vinding Diers of Bodega Noemia said 'we're very happy with the 2022 harvest' despite a couple of late frosts, describing a warm, windy spring and a summer of hot days and cool nights. In San Patricio del Chanar, Neuquen, two late frosts on 5 October and 16 November hit yields by as much as 20 percent, after which the harvest went well.

Decanter's report called 2022 another successful Argentine harvest to match the previous four years, while noting that producers found it the most singular of recent vintages. Daniel Pi of Bemberg Estate described 'balanced must, with moderate alcohol, good phenolic development, concentration and plenty of colour' and predicted 'wines with excellent ageing potential.' Alejandro Vigil, named by Decanter as President of Wines of Argentina and chief winemaker at Catena Zapata, called it a very unusual harvest but said it 'was one of the best I've seen in terms of quality.' Agustina Hanna of Bodega Ruca Malen said the whites were the big challenge, but that where the harvest was done well they achieved good quality and fresher wines, in lower volumes. In Mendoza, Decanter named Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Cabernet Franc as the red varieties to watch, with Chardonnay generally agreed to be the star white.

The INV's production estimate, published on 15 February 2022 from field work through 11 February, put Argentina's 2022 grape harvest at 19,449,000 quintales, 13 percent below the 2021 crop of 22,229,011 quintales and 16.4 percent below the 2012 to 2021 average of 23,262,116 quintales, with a measurement uncertainty of plus or minus 5 percent. For Mendoza the INV estimated a 14 percent drop on 2021 that may have come from late frosts in the first week of October 2021 and hailstorms between December and February 2022. Los Andes, reporting the estimate, put Mendoza at 13,400,000 quintales and said Argentina's 2022 harvest was on course to be the second-lowest in 50 years, behind only 2016, citing lack of water, late frosts and hailstorms.