Producer
One of the most original winemaking projects of recent years, Masi Tupungato is a fusion of Venetian technique and Argentine terroir. The estate – Vigneti La Arboleda – consists of 140 hectares, of which eighty are currently planted with both Argentine varieties (Malbec and Torrontés) and Venetian grapes (Corvina and Pinot Grigio).
Vineyard
Grapes for this wine are grown organically at an altitude of 950-1050 metres in the Tupungato Valley. The ground is stony, sandy and chalky with a good content of organic and mineral elements. Rainfall is very low, at 250mm, mostly occuring in summer downpours, and compared to most of Mendoza, night time temperatures are cooler here, giving fresher acidity. The Pinot Grigio was picked at the end of February, followed by the later-ripening Torrontés.
Winery
The Pinot Grigio grapes were lightly dried for fifteen days to concentrate their flavour. The grapes were then pressed and chilled to 5ºC. After twenty hours’ settling the must was inoculated with yeast and fermented in stainless steel at 15-17ºC, with micro-oxygenation. The Torrontés was destemmed and given several hours’ cold maceration before pressing and fermenting in the same way. The components were blended after fermentation and allowed to harmonize for six months in stainless steel tanks before bottling.
