Los Chacayes IG

The name comes from the chacay, a native shrub that survives in the harsh ground. François Lurton planted the first vines here in 1996 at Piedra Negra, when the site was close to barren desert. Piedra Negra applied for the IG. The trademark "Chacayes" belongs to Jacques et François Lurton S.A., and the INV needed its permission, which came in a coexistence agreement dated 13 February 2017. Resolution 249-E/2017 followed on 5 October 2017. In 2023 the boundary was extended after the producers' association argued that the soils in the added area match the original ones.

The soils are alluvial and colluvial, left by the Arroyo Grande, and they carry rhyolite, granite and some metamorphic rock. Large stones lie in the higher west and finer particles sit on the plains. Zuccardi finds sand and silt over a conglomerate of small, barely eroded stones, with the odd deposit of calcium carbonate and gypsum. The climate runs from warmer at the bottom to cooler at the top. One local write-up calls it one of the warmer zones of the valley, with more heat hours than Paraje Altamira or Gualtallary.

About 26 producers belong to the IG's association, among them Ver Sacrum, Piedra Negra, El Enemigo, SuperUco, Bianchi, Terrazas de los Andes and La Coste de los Andes. Susana Balbo and Familia Millán also have vineyards here. I'd look for Malbec with the grip to age and acidity that keeps the tannin in check.