Durigutti Family Winemakers was founded in 2002, when brothers Pablo and Héctor Durigutti realised their long-held dream of starting a family winery. At the time, the Mendozan winemakers were rising stars in a wine scene dominated by large wineries. Their success gave them the courage to strike out on their own and they soon made a name for themselves as experts on Malbec and leading producers in Luján de Cuyo – a historic region in Mendoza where they became guardians of an invaluable viticultural heritage. This approach also won them considerable international recognition early on in their journey.
Interpreters of their heritage
Unquestionably, the most significant landmark in the story of Durigutti Family Winemakers was their purchase in 2007 of an old vineyard in the Geographic Indication of Las Compuertas, which they named Finca Victoria after their mother. It was here that they embarked on a new organic viticulture project coupled with a wine hospitality and tourism programme, which brought the winery to even greater prominence on the local wine scene.
The brothers are firmly focused on expressing the local character of their vineyards, a quest that sees them forever exploring new micro-terroirs, studying different soil types and producing wines of remarkable character in a range of styles, all while employing ecological agricultural methods. The winery and vineyards have organic certification, while all the wines they produce are also certified as vegan.
Durigutti Family Winemakers make wines from different regions and micro-terroirs across Mendoza and different provinces around the country. They focus on Malbec, Bonarda and Cabernet Franc, as well as on lesser-known traditional varieties such as Criolla, enabling them to create wines that capture a specific sense of place and the history that underlies each project.
Mendozan winemakers Pablo and Héctor Durigutti
International recognition
2023 has certainly been a red-letter year for the small family winery. At the last edition of the Decanter World Wine Awards, Durigutti Family Winemakers winery was hailed as a revelation, winning a coveted Best in Show award for its Durigutti Pie de Monte Malbec Finca Las Jarillas 2020 from Gualtallary (97 points). In addition, it won two Gold Medals – for Proyecto Las Compuertas Malbec 5 Suelos 2022 and Durigutti Pie de Monte Malbec Finca Zarlenga 2020, each of which was awarded 95 points – and three Silver Medals.
In a further honour for the winery, the Durigutti brothers were named Best Winemakers of the Year by Tim Atkin MW in the 2023 edition of his annual Argentina Report.
Durigutti Family Winemakers winery is also celebrating its status as ‘highest entry by a new winery’ in the 2023 list of The World’s Best Vineyards, at 13th place in a ranking system that takes into account the quality and reputation of the wines produced, as well as the services the estate offers its visitors.
Durigutti’s Finca Victoria, Mendoza
Finca Victoria is an innovative project designed to restore and preserve Mendoza’s viticultural heritage, and to share the identity of Las Compuertas with visitors from around the world. There, one can enjoy the organic vineyards amid a carefully tended landscape that preserves local biodiversity, whilst showcasing the modern family winery, a range of different wine tasting options, the restaurant ‘5 Suelos – Cocina de Finca’ and its organic vegetable garden, as well as the cosy rural guest houses which offer a holistic wine tourism experience.