One to watch: Argentina’s Juan Pablo Murgia

Few winemakers have the opportunity to be pioneers in new regions and fewer still in regions of extreme terroirs, where textbook viticulture doesn’t apply. Perhaps none see such groundbreaking efforts yield world-class wines in less than a decade.

However, all of this is true of Juan Pablo Murgia, who, as head winemaker of the Avinea group, led the inception of its limit-defying Otronia project in Argentine Patagonia (see below).

But Murgia’s trajectory has been defined foremost by consistency and commitment rather than the exceptional opportunities he’s had – and that he has embraced with a calm, assertive focus.

Son of Mendoza

Born in Luján de Cuyo, in the heart of Mendoza, Murgia grew up among Malbec vines. The grandson and son of grape growers, he went on to study oenology and started his career at the local research outpost of the Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria.

After two seasons at different wineries, he joined Carlos Pulenta’s Bodega Vistalba, located in the town of the same name, staying for seven years.

While Murgia was there, the prolific entrepreneur Alejandro Bulgheroni became involved in the venture, taking a 50% stake to add to his growing portfolio of estates, which would eventually come to include properties in Argentina, Bordeaux, Italy, Napa and beyond.

The relationship with Alejandro Bulgheroni Family Vineyards (ABFV) flourished, and in 2010, Murgia became engaged in earnest in the development of its concerns in Argentina, under the umbrella of Grupo Avinea.

Its flagship projects – Bodega Argento (Mendoza), bought by Bulgheroni in 2012, and Otronia (Patagonia) – projected Murgia as a rising star on the Argentine wine scene.

Blank slate

When it changed ownership, Argento already existed as a volume brand. Murgia’s brief was to turn it into a fully fledged estate delivering organic-certified wines, working primarily with estate-owned fruit.

He oversaw the planting of vineyards in Alto Agrelo (232ha), Ugarteche (22ha), Altamira (21ha), Cruz de Piedra (12ha) and Carrizal (99ha).

During Murgia’s tenure – and under the guidance of winemaker Alberto Antonini, who consults across ABFV’s portfolio – Argento has become Argentina’s largest organic-certified producer.

The evolution of Murgia’s career overlaps with that of his relationship with Antonini, whom Murgia considers both his master and friend.

It’s easy to see a lineage: Murgia’s demeanour and approach echo Antonini’s matter-of-fact elegance, poised precision and relentless focus on terroir.

Yet Murgia has a personal attachment to his role that brings a cerebral viscerality to his words while also defining the stylistic thread that runs through his wines.

To the extreme

It was Otronia that forced Murgia to fully flex his viticultural muscles and to reconsider his classroom knowledge. The project’s inception happened alongside Argento’s, but it took longer for the vines to become fully productive, with the first wines released from the 2017 vintage.

Located on the shores of lake Musters in Sarmiento, in Chubut province, Patagonia, straddling parallel 45° 33’, the 52ha of vines grow on an extreme terroir defined by relentless winds, intense light and brutal temperature fluctuations.

‘[The border of] Patagonia is 1,000km from my home [in Mendoza]. Sarmiento is another 1,000km further,’ Murgia explains, giving context to what it means to work in the world’s southernmost wine sub-region.

‘It’s a singular landscape – almost untouched and extremely powerful.’

Two Juan Pablo Murgia wines to track down

Otronia, Chardonnay, Chubut, Patagonia, Argentina 2022 94pts

Focused and layered, with expressive smoky notes of flint and gunpowder over intense lemon zest, white grapefruit, crunchy pear and camomile notes. Juicy citrus drives an unctuous palate. A strong, assertive acid line held by a mineral backbone. Long, with lingering white grapefruit, wet stone and aniseed notes. Organic.

Argento, Single Block Block #1 Malbec, Paraje Altamira, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina 2021 94pts

Complex and characterful, with an alluring, fresh nose weaving together wet stone, petrichor, red cherry, plum, redcurrant, wild rocket and tomato leaf. Very pure fruit on the palate, supported by a beautiful tannic framework – fine and mineral yet muscular. The fleshy fruit fills the palate, held by a crunchy, textural grip. Long on the finish, with lingering tomato leaf and cherry pit notes. Organic.

Nature and nurture

Bulgheroni’s idea to explore (and push) the southern limit for viticulture came with good expectations. ‘But the team did not anticipate the qualitative level we’ve achieved,’ confesses Murgia. ‘The ambition was there – that’s why [at Otronia] we’ve taken precision viticulture and the concept of micro-terroir to the extreme.’

The vineyard is divided into 52 parcels, planted at high density with specific clonal and rootstock selections and harvested and vinified separately. ‘But for all our efforts and strict working philosophy – organic and now incorporating biodynamic practices – it’s also a function of the energy and magic of the place,’ Murgia concludes.

‘Respect for a place, precision viticulture and a superior terroir – that’s what makes special wines.’

There’s an interesting analogy here with Murgia himself, with his unassuming combination of technical expertise and visceral connection with the projects he’s involved in.

He evokes his childhood memories without losing sight of the inevitable technical demands of his work or taking any achievements for granted – and acknowledging the role others have had in shaping his opportunities and career.

At 41, with 20 (professional) harvests behind him, Murgia is a son of Mendoza, as a man as well as a winemaker. On the other hand, he has become the father of a new, unlikely terroir, whose Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs and Merlots now regularly feature among South America’s best – not least in Decanter’s tastings.

A product of nature but also, no doubt, of knowledgeable nurture.

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