In 1991, as a relative youngster exploring the world, I arrived in Mendoza by bus with my
backpacks after 8 months of exploring South America. I had already been working in the
wine industry for a while and naturally visited wineries, including Giol where I walked in a 1
Million! litre concrete tank (in landscape format) placed on metal rollers to minimise the
impact of earthquakes.
My perception was of a tired town, which had hosted a number of games during the 1978
Football World Cup, but had seen little investment since. The memorial garden and
fountain were covered in weeds, broken tiles et al. I skipped town fairly quickly and headed
down from the Andes to Santiago in Chile.
Jump 19 years to Barcelona and Alimentaria, the biennial food and wine fair. My trip had
been part sponsored by the Spanish trade agency and who was I not to take advantage of
that generosity? Next to Italian stands at wine fairs, Spain ranks right up there. No money
was spared and I spent 3 days meandering through food and wine stalls, learning and
tasting. Strange then to find an Argentine winery represented here. This is where my
relationship with Belasco de Baquedano began.
Juan Ignacio Belasco was born in Viana, Spain, to a family of distillers that, dating back to
1831, had carved out a market niche with his Patxaran, a legendary regional sloe berry /
anise liqueur. In the late 1980s, Juan Ignacio entered the wine business by purchasing
vineyards and building a winery in the Navarra region of Spain.
In the early 1990’s, Juan Ignacio became infatuated with the Malbec grape variety. With the
assistance of wine consultant and former Mouton Rothschild head winemaker Bertrand
Bourdil (awarded three 100-point scores from Robert Parker for his Mouton Rothschild
vintages 1982, 1986 and 1988), explored Argentina in search for exceptional vineyards to
create equally exceptional Malbec wines. They eventually discovered and purchased 222
acres of high-altitude (1000m) old vine Malbec vineyards (planted 1910) in the Lujan de
Cuyo region of Mendoza. Belasco are located in the ‘Golden Mile’ of this sub-region, named
Alto Agrelo. In 2003, with the assistance of his son Mikel, on a property near the now 116-year-old vineyards, Juan Ignacio began the construction of the Belasco de Baquedano winery,
completing it and vinting the winery’s first vintage in 2008.
I met both Juan Ignacio and Mikel at Alimentaria in 2010. Mikel’s English is impeccable and
we discussed their family’s various projects, many focused on spirits and liqueurs. I was
impressed by the winery’s Mayan-style architecture, the age of the vineyard and the wines I
tasted. A few years later, in 2013, I placed my first order, importing wines from Lujan de
Cuyo, a 1000m high sub-region of the famous Mendoza wine region in NW Argentina.
I have since visited the winery a few times, enjoyed lunch at the winery restaurant ‘Navarra’
while tasting through the range of wines and toured the vineyard. This winery is one of the
few in the world that boasts an aroma room – a hall that allows the visitor to smell and read
about 46 different fragrances (and faults) that can be smelled in a wine – a truly memorable experience.
Sadly, Juan Ignacio passed away in 2017, but Mikel continues his father’s passion to create
the finest Malbec wines in the world. We have recently expanded our range of wines from
Belasco from five malbecs (Moncagua, Llama, Gran Llama, AR Guentota and Swinto) to also
include a methode malbec sparkling and a Torrontes from the Salta region. Possibly the
most interesting wine is the Antracita Malbec, an ice wine that is produced only in years
when the grapes actually freeze on the vines. Deliciously voluptuous, sweet and complex.
By all accounts, the Belasco family is a welcome Spanish foray into the highlands of
Argentina. Why not take a virtual trip to Mendoza with us at Cahn’s?
Martin – aka The Cahn
