Sarmiento IG

Sarmiento holds about a third of San Juan's Malbec, 932 of 2,862 hectares, and it overtook Caucete as the largest Syrah department. It lost 757 hectares of vines between 2015 and 2024, less than the other big departments.

The INV figures cover the whole department, so the high-altitude Pedernal vines are mixed in with the valley floor. A 2012 Diario de Cuyo report says the cool nights on the lower ground make it hard to get good colour in red varieties, and that Sarmiento and Pocito make Torrontés Riojano of high varietal character. For the best-known Sarmiento wines, look under Valle del Pedernal.