The main characteristic of the 2022 vintage was lower yields, due to the intense cold and late frosts that occurred during the spring season. However, the grapes collected during this Vendimia stand out for their excellent quality and prompt us to anticipate that our white wines will be fresh with delicate aromas, while the red wines will have excellent structure and will be highly concentrated in aroma and color.

"Having finished the fermentation process, I observe the quality we have obtained and I think that this harvest could be amongst the most outstanding of recent years," said Juan Roby, Lagarde's Winemaker, adding: "It was a strange and complex season, especially from the climatic point of view, but the results are extraordinary”.

Having the new wines already in the cellar, these days the winemaking team is defining the qualities of each batch and starting to fill the barrels and casks. In addition, they are scheduling the new cycle for each estate.

Weather evolution of the season
The spring started out warm, but in early October the sudden cold and some late frosts affected the vines, causing a decrease in Mendoza's yields in general terms. In Luján de Cuyo and Valle de UCo, it mainly affected the lower areas, where cold air accumulates easily.

Spring continued to be more humid and rainier than usual until the end of December. With the New Year, the heat started to be felt and until February, the weather was cool and, again, somewhat rainy. From March onwards, the dry and sunny days, as well as the cool nights, allowed for an excellent evolution of the maturity in all the varieties.

“Our preventive measures for disease control worked very well and we maintained very good sanitation. For example, on March 30th, a frost occured that we did not expect it, but thanks to the good decisions of the technical team, we already had all the grapes that could have been affected already in the winery," added Roby.

A summary estate by estate

Mayor Drummond (Luján de Cuyo):
This estate is very special since it has the oldest vines of Lagarde and it was the first we certified as organic. With the grapes from these vineyards, we produce the Lagarde Organic range as well as components of very representative wines of our portfolio, such as Guarda Malbec D.O.C., Primeras Viñas Luján and Henry Gran Guarda N° 1.

We started the vegetative cycle with a new drip irrigation system in function, which allowed us -despite the province's water crisis- to maintain adequate levels of humidity, which are very important quality wise.

Here, the harvest began on February, the 25th, with Semillon, almost two weeks later than in the 2021 Vendimia. The decision to wait for the ideal ripeness, in search of an aromatic and vibrant profile for the grapes (that will later become Lagarde Organic Rosé) was not easy, as the rain seemed relentless, but the effort was worth it and the result is excellent.

The other variety that grows in this vineyard is Malbec and its harvest started on March 3, exactly the same day that we had started it in 2021. We are convinced that the concentration and typicity that we obtain from this Malbec vines will surely allow us to maintain and further increase the quality of our wines year after year.

Perdriel (Luján de Cuyo):
In this estate, which is the largest owned by the winery, we suffered some volume losses due to the cold spring that we mentioned earlier. It affected, for example, the Cabernet Sauvignon that is planted in lower areas.
On top of that and helped by the low production and the excellent weather we experienced in March, we collected this variety somewhat early in the season.

The harvest of Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec occurred at normal times. The wines that we are making with these varieties are excellent: concentrated and fresh, with good acidity.

It is important to note that the new Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc vineyards that we planted during 2021 developed very well. They have good and moderate vigor that will allow us to make adequate formation pruning. At the same time, we are preparing to plant more Malbec and Moscato, sticking to the reconversion plan that we build some years ago for this estate.

Agrelo (Luján de Cuyo):
This is a cold area, were we had low yields. The Malbec vineyards produced about 30% less than last year. However, the concentration, structure, aromas and color of the harvest are exceptional. We can say that the wines we are making with this grape have everything that a great Malbec from Lujan de Cuyo should have.

Gualtallary (Tupungato, Valle de Uco):
In these unique vineyards, located in a very wild area, almost 1,400 meters above sea level, we continue to be surprised by the quality, concentration and character of the wines we obtain.

The relatively low yields in Malbec and Chardonnay, with proper management and the right harvest time, have given us magnificent expressions of these two varietals. In this estate, we also have Pinot Noir, a variety that showed moderate to low yields, fine aromas and very elegant tannins.

In the case of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon production was normal, although to reach the maturity we wanted, we had to intervene on the plants in mid-January and February, at the time of maturation. In cold areas like this, if you do not regulate the volume of the vine, Cabernet tends to be very herbaceous. The high altitude and cooler temperatures, give grapes with very high content of polyphenols, color and characteristic aromas. That is the reason why the wines we make with these grapes have a lot of color and aromas of fresh fruit and herbs.

 We can’t wait to have these wines finished and ready to drink!