Cheval des Andes

The estate's site says the inspiration for Cheval des Andes came from the dream of founder Pierre Lurton to follow the original Malbec vines from Bordeaux to Argentina. Malbec was brought to Argentina in the mid-19th century, only decades before a phylloxera epidemic decimated it in France, and the site notes that the only Malbec that exists in Bordeaux today has grafted roots. When Lurton discovered the Malbec vineyard of Las Compuertas, planted in Mendoza in 1929, the site quotes him declaring: "This will be a journey to the roots of Bordeaux." In 1999 Château Cheval Blanc started a joint venture with Terrazas de los Andes, and Cheval des Andes was born. The Drinks Business and Decanter both describe Terrazas de los Andes as part of LVMH.

• Joint venture between Château Cheval Blanc and Terrazas de los Andes, begun in 1999
• Las Compuertas Malbec vineyard planted in 1929
• Pierre Lurton: founder, and President of Cheval des Andes

Cheval des Andes produces its wines entirely from two wholly-owned, high-altitude vineyards, with 50 hectares (123 acres) of vines. Las Compuertas, in Luján de Cuyo, lies on gentle slopes at 1,070 meters (3,500 feet), with relatively low rainfall and high diurnal temperature variation; its alluvial, deep silty-loam soils are 36% sand, 48% limestone and 16% clay. The site says the parts of this vineyard with deeper soil are particularly well suited to Cabernet Sauvignon, while the zones with less deep soils are ideal for Malbec. La Consulta, in the Uco Valley further south, sits at 1,100 meters (3,600 feet), with a greater diurnal temperature variation than Las Compuertas and alluvial soils of 60% sand, 10% clay and 30% limestone. The estate's vintage sheets name the two vineyards as Las Compuertas, Luján de Cuyo, and Paraje Altamira, Uco Valley. Las Compuertas means "the floodgates" in Spanish, after the traditional flood irrigation of Mendoza; in 2017 the estate implemented a drip irrigation system still fed by snowmelt stored in reservoirs, which the site says raised irrigation efficiency from 65% to 95%.

• Las Compuertas (Luján de Cuyo): 1,070 m (3,500 ft); sand 36%, limestone 48%, clay 16%
• La Consulta (Uco Valley): 1,100 m (3,600 ft); sand 60%, clay 10%, limestone 30%
• First reservoir built in 2016; 3 reservoirs today across the Altamira and Las Compuertas estates
• Wines produced entirely from the two wholly-owned vineyards

In 2019, inspired by the work of Château Cheval Blanc, Cheval des Andes embarked on an agroecological approach after years of research and experimentation. Between 2021 and 2022, fruit and forest trees were planted within and around the vine rows, and the estate has moved away from herbicide-treated soils toward cover crops of grasses, legumes and flowering plants. The team keeps two organic vegetable gardens and an animal farm including sheep, horses, cows and alpacas, and there are 10 beehives at Las Compuertas.

• Agroecological approach begun in 2019
• Fruit and forest trees planted within and around vine rows between 2021 and 2022
• 10 beehives at Las Compuertas

Vines are observed plot by plot, and grapes are harvested by hand and vinified separately by sub-plot; the vintage sheets describe the principle of 'one parcel, one tank', in tanks of 30 to 80 hl. After the malolactic fermentation, the Cheval des Andes and Château Cheval Blanc winemaking teams come together to create the pre-assemblage that forms the basis of the final blend, which the site says is aged for 16 to 18 months in new and second-use Bordeaux barrels of French and Austrian oak. For the 2019, 2020 and 2021 vintages, maturation was 40% in 225-litre barrels, 40% in 400-litre barrels and 20% in 2,500-litre foudres, 50% of it new oak. The wine is a blend of two main grape varieties, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, with Petit Verdot added depending on the vintage; the site says its Petit Verdot was imported from Château Margaux. In 2019 Gérald Gabillet told The Drinks Business that the estate had grubbed up its Cabernet Franc vines the previous year, with the goal of using more Cabernet Sauvignon to achieve closer to a 50:50 split with Malbec.

• 2021: 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot; 14.1% alcohol; harvest 4 to 19 March
• 2020: 49% Malbec, 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot; 14.5% alcohol; harvest 28 February to 17 March, the earliest in the estate's history
• 2019: 50% Malbec, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon; 14.2% alcohol; harvest 14 March to 4 April
• 2001: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Malbec

As of 23 September 2026, the estate's team page lists Pierre Lurton as President of Cheval des Andes, Pierre-Olivier Clouet as General Director of Château Cheval Blanc, Gérald Damien Gabillet as CEO and Head Winemaker, Rosario Maria Toso as Chef de Culture, and Rodrigo De la Mota as Maître de Chai. According to The Drinks Business, Gabillet previously worked at Château Angélus, joined Cheval des Andes in 2018 and took over as estate manager and head winemaker in 2019. Gabillet told the same outlet that Lorenzo Pasquini had been the estate's first full-time winemaker, from 2015 to 2018.

• Pierre Lurton: President, Cheval des Andes
• Gérald Damien Gabillet: CEO and Head Winemaker (estate team page, September 2026)
• Rosario Maria Toso: Chef de Culture; Rodrigo De la Mota: Maître de Chai

The estate does not sell its wines directly, but entrusts their distribution to Bordeaux wine merchants. The Drinks Business reported in September 2019 that Cheval des Andes would be sold via La Place de Bordeaux from that month, releasing its 2016 vintage through merchants there. The same outlet reported in 2025 that a new Cheval des Andes winery in Las Compuertas began construction in 2023 and was set for completion at the end of 2026.

• Sold via La Place de Bordeaux from September 2019 (The Drinks Business)
• New Las Compuertas winery: construction began in 2023, completion set for the end of 2026 (The Drinks Business, 2025)

The estate describes the style of Cheval des Andes as unique in Argentina, revealing the freshness and elegance of the terroir through blends inspired by Cheval Blanc, with great cellaring potential and complexity. Its site quotes Pierre Lurton saying the wines "travel through the decades," and describes them as complex rather than intense on the nose and balanced rather than powerful on the palate.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.chevaldesandes.com/, https://www.chevaldesandes.com/the-story/, https://www.chevaldesandes.com/the-savoir-faire/, https://www.chevaldesandes.com/agroecology/, https://www.chevaldesandes.com/vin/cheval-des-andes/, https://www.chevaldesandes.com/where-to-find-our-wines/, https://www.chevaldesandes.com/vin/cheval-des-andes/ (vintage technical sheets 2001, 2019, 2020, 2021, loaded by the vintage selector). Secondary sources: The Drinks Business (10 September 2019; 24 July 2025), Decanter (Terrazas de los Andes producer profile, 17 August 2017). Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs. Last verified 2026-09-23