Aniello, 006 Merlot 2022

The grapes are hand-harvested at our own estate in Mainque, Alto Valle del Rio Negro, and then they go through a cold maceration for three days. Fermentation took place in small concrete tanks in a slow, cool temperature-controlled process. We use both indigenous and selected yeasts. Malolactic fermentation also took place in tanks. 30% of the wine is oak-aged for 12 months.

Bodega Aniello is a young project started in 2010: a small winery looking to explore the value of the ancient winemaking tradition of Patagonia in the Rio Negro Valley, the most southerly wine region in South America. Most people tend to think of Patagonia as a new wine-producing area and that is the case for the Neuquen region which was only recently established through government funding in the early 2000s. Instead, the Rio Negro Valley area has been devoted to agriculture and viticulture since the 1820s when British colonists dug irrigation channels into the dry, arid Patagonian desert on both sides of the Negro, forming a green belt along the river that was suitable for agriculture. While for years viticulture was somewhat forgotten and mostly replaced by apple and pear orchards, Rio Negro is now once again one of Argentina's up-and-coming wine regions, and more and more producers are exploring its viticultural potential. And so young entrepreneur Santiago Bernasconi, after years spent as the export manager for some of the largest wineries in Argentina and very much in love with the area's history and potential, finally found the right partner to put his dream to life.