Huentala Wines: A key name for winemaking in Mendoza

Last updated 31 October 2024 In Features

Hotelier Julio Camsen has years of experience showcasing the best food – and particularly wines – that Mendoza has to offer, at Huentala Hotel. It should be no surprise, then, that Camsen, himself from a winemaking family, had long dreamt of making his own wines. After a lengthy search for the ideal location, in 2002 Camsen bought 230ha of vineyards in Gualtallary, Uco Valley, and Huentala Wines was born.

Eight years later, he planted his own vineyard for the first time: an 85ha site that he named La Isabel Estate in honour of his mother – a name that now adorns its acclaimed single-vineyard Malbec.

Wines with a sense of place

La Isabel Estate, located at 1,400m elevation in Gualtallary, has ‘an interestingly diverse range of soils, with calcareous sand and abundant rocky material’, says José Morales, winemaker at Huentala Wines, adding that this ‘allows us to make wines with a great sense of place.’

Meticulous exploration of these soils was key in establishing the individual character of Huentala Wines’ different bottlings, including the Zonos, La Isabel Estate, Huentala Blocks Edition and Calizo Carmín & Albar lines.

In Gualtallary, Huentala Wines is known for more than just its wines, welcoming visitors against the majestic backdrop of the Andes. Its grounds include a sculpture collection and an innovative restaurant, Rastro by Huentala, which offers traditional local cuisine.

La Isabel Estate Malbec 2021

Awarded 95 points and a Gold medal at Decanter’s 2024 Premium Argentinian Malbec panel tasting, La Isabel Estate Malbec 2021 was declared ‘outstanding’ by the judges. For winemaker Morales, it is a nuanced expression of Gualtallary: ‘We make it with grapes from separate areas of the estate, each of which provided different expressions that we then made in micro-batches’ before selecting only ‘the best wine barrels for the final blend.’

The Decanter judges found the wine ‘energetic and bright, silky yet firm and bursting with violet perfume’, with ‘ripe forest fruits, dark chocolate [and] dried herbs.’ Recognised by the panel as ‘an expression of the variety in the right place’, La Isabel Estate Malbec 2021 is a testament to Huentala Wines’ work to capture their exceptional Gualtallary terroir.