2019 Pulenta, Gran Cabernet Franc

Pulenta Estate is owned and run by brothers, Hugo and Eduardo Pulenta. The estate is situated in Alto Agrelo in Mendoza, Argentina's main wine producing region. This excellent site makes wines of real class and distinction.

The 135 hectares are planted with Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, these varieties are used as both single varieties and blended to make wines such as the excellent Gran Corte.

Pulenta enjoys excellent climate conditions and a fantastic panoramic aspect from up to 980 metres above sea level. Irrigation comes from melted water from the Andes Mountains, and the whole process is de facto organic! The Pulenta family make excellent Malbec, increasingly recognised as Argentina's signature grape variety, enhancing its natural exuberant fruitiness with discipline and structure. The Estate Chardonnay benefiting from a completely manual harvest and barrel fermentation in French wood.

The brothers' philosophy is expressed thus: ""Making a great wine is an act of generosity, considering always the one who will taste it. Our mission is to produce limited series of great wines, proudly made in Argentina.""

Cabernet Franc is widely planted in Bordeaux and is the most important black grape grown in the Loire. In the Médoc, it may constitute up to 15% of a typical vineyard – it is always blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and is used to add bouquet and complexity to the wines. It is more widely used in St Émilion, where it adapts well to the cooler and moister clay soils.