San Pedro de Yacochuya
The Etchart Family has been making wines since 1850 on the mother's side. The antecedent in Cafayate is the family of Flavio Lema Niño, of which the old clay jars where the wine was stored are preserved.
Arnaldo Benito Etchart bought the La Florida estate and winery in the first half of the 20th century, in 1938, and it was his son Arnaldo who developed the "Etchart" brand with great success in Argentina and abroad.
This winery was sold to the Pernod Ricard group in 1996, and a year earlier, Arnaldo already had the wines of the new venture on the market: San Pedro de Yacochuya, achieving a Premium product of excellent international quality.
The Yacochuya Winery is located at more than 2000 meters above sea level, being one of the highest viticultures in the world. On the farm there are 30 hectares. planted with Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat, Cabernet Franc and Torrontés grapes.
In 1988, Arnaldo Etchart summoned the Frenchman Michel Rolland, so that they could jointly develop the red wines of the Etchart winery. That year begins the relationship of work and friendship, with one of the best winemakers in the world. This was one of Michel's first consultancies outside of France. Later in 1989, the American magazine Wine Spectator, has Rolland on one of its covers that year, endorsing his prestige on a world scale. During 1990, Arnaldo Etchart & Michel Rolland released one of the first premium wines in Argentina: Arnaldo B. Etchart, Vintage 1989. In 1995, the first San Pedro de Yacochuya wines (red and white) were released onto the Argentine market. the works of the new winery in Yacochuya, receiving the first vintage in February 1999. The winery had a production capacity of 90 thousand liters, equipped with the newest and most modern technology. At the beginning of 2020, the winery reached an installed capacity of 350,000 liters and produces around 250,000 bottles among all its labels. In 2001, the winery exports its first premium wine, Yacochuya - M. Rolland, Vintage 1999, while continuing to serve the local market. In 2003, the development of a new vineyard began near the town of Tolombón, 16 km south of Cafayate. The Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat varieties were planted on this farm. Seedlings produced from the vineyards of the Yacochuya farm were planted. With these grapes, the line of Coquena varietal wines is produced, which were launched on the domestic market in 2009 and in 2010 they began to be exported to Latin America, the USA and China. In 2015 the first Coquena cut was released, made from Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat, this wine has a slight aging in second and third use barrels (approximately 6 months).
On average, sales are divided into 50% in the domestic market and 50% are exports.
The Calchaquí Valleys are characterized by their height above sea level. Tolombón is 1700 meters high, and to this is added the large number of sunny days (more than 300 days per year), little rainfall (a maximum of 200 millimeters per year), loamy-sandy soils, with very little organic matter. and a large thermal amplitude between day and night.
One of the main characteristics of the grapes that are produced at altitude is that, due to the great intensity of the sun's rays, their skins are generally thicker and this translates into wines with great structure.
These climatological characteristics ensure a natural health of the grapes, free of fungi and other problems that occur in areas with clay soils and higher ambient humidity.
The red wines produced in this terroir are powerful wines, full-bodied and colourful.
They are wines with character, elegant, different from those of other regions of Argentina and the rest of the world.
Yacochuya wine is born in the vineyard. Without an excellent grape, good wines cannot be made and the goal is to make the best possible wine every year.
This implies special care for the vineyard and very limited yields, around 6,000 kilos per hectare and no more than 12 to 15 clusters per plant.