Jelu Malbec 2015, Zonda Valley, San Juan, Argentina

Jelu Estate was founded in 2002 and is located in San Juan, which is approximately 100 miles North of Mendoza. Duncan Killiner, the co-founder also makes the wine and speaks often of the distinctive climate of the Zonda Valley. Jelu was established to promote Argentina’s terroirs. Duncan sources organically grown grapes from a few regions, including the Zonda Valley in San Juan and Patagonia. The Zonda Valley is dry and hot with riverbed shingles and pudding stones that run two meters deep and radiate heat throughout the valley. This soil composition is quite extreme already, but the terroir is also transformed by temperature variations spanning 50 degrees over the course of a day in the height of summer. The grapes that are harvested in January (the southern hemisphere’s equivalent of July) which is relatively early compared to other producers in the region. 2015 Vintage – 95% Malbec, 5% Tannat. Fermentation: stainless steel fermentation. Aging: 9 to 12 months in 2nd use and older French Oak barrels then returned to tank for a few more months before bottling.