Valles Calchaquíes IG

These are the highest wine valleys in Argentina. Vineyards sit around 1,700 metres near Cafayate and climb past 3,000 metres in the north, where Colomé's Altura Máxima vineyard is at 3,111 metres. Temperature drops about 1°C for every 150 metres of climb, and one winemaker puts average rainfall in the valleys at 215 millimetres a year.

Salta holds most of the vines. The INV counted 3,701 hectares there in 2025, against 2,370 in Catamarca and 111 in Tucumán. Cafayate alone has 2,798 hectares. The sun is strong, the nights are cold and the swing between day and night is around 15 to 20°C, which is the usual explanation for the thick skins and deep colour.

A label that names only Valles Calchaquíes tells me the grapes could come from any of the three provinces. I look for a smaller name on the bottle, such as Cafayate, Cachi, Molinos or San Carlos, and for Malbec that keeps its freshness under all that concentration.