Luján de Cuyo DOC

This is Argentina's first denomination of origin. A group of wineries built it in the late 1980s and formed the council in 1989, before the country had a law for it. The OIV recognised it in 1991, it became a provincial law in 1993 and a national law in 1999, and the INV registered it in Res. C.15/2005, signed on 1 July 2005. Lagarde, Luigi Bosca, Nieto Senetiner and Norton were among the founders. The council was relaunched in 2021 and now lists wineries such as Bressia, Mendel, Terrazas de los Andes, Trivento, Vistalba, Casarena, Weinert, Renacer and Doña Paula.

The rules are stricter than the IG. The wine is at least 85% Malbec, with a minimum of 13.5% alcohol. Vines have to be at least 10 years old, trellised and planted at more than 5,000 vines per hectare. A wine needs at least 18 months between harvest and release, with at least 6 of them in wood. Each bottle carries a numbered seal, and wines pass tastings before they get it.

In 2023 the council added a Distrital tier. These wines come from a single district (Agrelo, Drummond, Las Compuertas, Perdriel or Vistalba, among others) and name it on the label. They need 24 months of ageing with at least 12 in oak and a maximum of 70 quintals per hectare. I'd look for the district on the label first, since that tells me the most. The first Distrital wines included a Bressia Malbec from Agrelo and a Mendel Malbec from Perdriel.