Patagonia Wine: Southern Argentina’s Best Kept Secret

If the Mendoza region is the king of Argentina wine, then Patagonia is its crown prince.

Most Americans recognize Patagonia as an elite outdoor apparel brand based in California, but to the Argentine people, it’s a bit like the Wild West.

Known for its jagged mountains, plateaus, snow, rivers, plains and proximity to the sea, Patagonia turned out to be an ideal location for making fine wines with a character unlike anything else in the country.

Rio Negro: Patagonia Wine’s Heart and Soul

If there is an epicenter to Patagonia wine, it would have to be Rio Negro, a fertile river valley which has been under vine for more than a century. As a result, Rio Negro is home to some of the oldest vineyards in the region, a feature that has attracted many of Argentina’s brightest winemaking talents.

While wine can be made just about anywhere, fine wine requires a specific set of conditions, and Rio Negro has all of them: Low humidity. Warm, dry summers. Cool nights that allow the grapes to retain acidity. Relatively austere soils poor in organic matter. The list goes on.

Rio Negro has two additional advantages not found in many other fine wine regions.

First, wind is omnipresent. Wind keeps the grapes dry, which reduces the risk of fungal disease. Second, Rio Negro’s latitude — between 38 and 42° South — means that it gets an extra hour of sunshine during the growing season than other wine regions such as Mendoza. Sunshine is critical for color and flavor development, and Rio Negro has it in abundance.

Bodega Aniello: Patagonia Wine’s Italian Roots

Rio Negro wines are still a bit of a secret in the American marketplace, as they are almost always overshadowed by the more famous region of Mendoza.

One winery in Rio Negro — Bodega Aniello — is looking to raise the profile of Patagonia wines, and they certainly have the tools to do it.

Aniello was founded as recently as 2013, but its winemaking heritage goes back much further. The winery’s CEO, Maria Cruz De Angelis, is a descendant of Raffaele De Angelis, an Italian who made wine in Sorrento a century earlier.

Aniello’s wines fully channel the character of Patagonia in general and Rio Negro in particular. Their Malbec and Pinot Noir wines, for example, have a piercing acidity which refreshes the palate before their lively, fresh fruit takes over.

GVI Wines is proud to offer some of Aniello’s finest bottlings, which offer tremendous value given their quality.

2016 Aniello Trousseau Patagonia

Remember that Rio Negro has some of Patagonia’s oldest vines? Aniello’s crowing glory is a medium-bodied, juicy red made from Trousseau vines planted in 1932. It’s unlike any red wine you’ve ever tasted.

2019 Aniello Chardonnay “006” Patagonia

Chardonnay at its freshest. Light yellow in color, with green apple, white peach and citrus notes. The wine is lean and crisp, with a mineral element you don’t often fine in Argentine whites.

2019 Aniello Blanco de Pinot Noir “Soil” Patagonia

White wine from red Pinot Noir grapes? Oh yes. This wine is made by lightly pressing the grapes with minimal skin contact before fermentation. The color in red wine comes from the skins, so minimizing skin contact yields a white wine. Stone fruit and floral aromas on the nose are followed by a rich, yet crisp, mouthfeel.

2019 Aniello Malbec “006” Patagonia

A Malbec that writes the book on finesse and elegance. Black cherry dominates the nose and palate. This is a fresher, leaner Malbec with less alcohol than what you find in Mendoza.

2019 Aniello Pinot Noir “006” Patagonia

We dare you to compare this wine with a modest red Burgundy. Aniello’s Pinot Noir has a pale ruby color with lovely aromas of cranberry and strawberry, along with some hints of rose and minerals.