Bodega Norton, an ever evolving passion for Argentinian wine

published 8 June 2023

It’s no mean feat to earn a place in the annals of wine history. Many challenges need to be overcome; among the most difficult is building a consistent reputation that represents a country, a terroir and benchmarks quality. More difficult still, is maintaining such a reputation for over a century.

Norton, is a winery that boasts more hectares under vine than any other in Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza – a region that is synonymous with Malbec across the world. The winery is a remarkable example of success, continually evolving and adapting through innovation. In fact this ability to evolve is a strength its owners have exhibited throughout their 128 year history.

Aiming to draw attention to the winery’s rich history and future potential, the winery is updating its image. Overseen by Michael Halstrick and the talented winemaker David Bonomi, the development of this new visual identity is reaffirming Norton’s commitment to making high value wines that consistently deliver a unique experience.

‘Norton has always been a major driver of the development of the Argentinian viticultural industry and today, we must live up to our responsibility to maintain the quality of wines we ship across the world,’ says Michael Halstrick, CEO and President of Norton.

Norton_David-Bonomi_Enologo_Michael-Halstrick_Presidente_CEO.jpg — David Bonomi and Michael Halstrick

A history with promise for the future

Looking back across Norton’s history, chronicled by its different logos over the years, it’s difficult to put one’s finger on the precise moment it became a leading figure on the New World Wine scene. Only a few years after founding the winery, British winemaker Edmund James Palmer Norton had begun earning the trust of Argentine consumers, soon growing NORTON to become the largest winery in the country.

By the mid-20th century, Norton’s wines were amongst the few that were exported overseas, successfully seducing foreign palates. In 1972, the winery became the first to export an Argentinian Malbec single-varietal wine to the United States. This was a landmark achievement in Malbec’s global market success story.

Later on, in 1989, when Norton was acquired by the Austrian businessman Gernot Langes-Swarovski, the winery experienced unprecedented growth that led to its wines reaching consumers in over 70 countries around the world. Today, Michael Halstrick, son of Gernot Langes-Swarovski leads the family winery with the same passion as his predecessors, convinced that there’s plenty more history to be written from these vineyards in Mendoza.

1959 Sémillon, a 100-point white

To demonstrate a winery’s greatness, one should naturally uncork some of its wines. Each bottle should reaffirm a reputation for prestige earned over time and Norton, with its distinguished history, can offer suitably unique flavours from its private library collection.

So much so that recently, the winery’s 1959 Norton Sémillon was awarded 100 points by Zekun Shuai, the Argentin critic for JamesSuckling.com.This is not only an impressive achievement for the winery but helps to continue to put Argentine wine on the map.

The wine is Argentina’s first vintage label to receive maximum points, and is also the country’s first white wine to receive this honour. The 1959 Norton Sémillon is a rare, 64-year-old wine of which only 850 bottles remain in the winery’s library. It keeps good company with more of the winery’s treasures, such as the 1982 Merlot, the 1974 Malbec and an exotic 1944 Tannat.