One of Argentina's Most Prolific Wine Producers
Bodegas Bianchi is one of the most prolific wine families in Argentina. The wine estate was established in San Rafael in 1928 by Italian immigrant Valentín Bianchi and is now run by the fourth generation of the Bianchi family. Valentín’s son, Enzo expanded the family winery in 2016 acquiring a 150-hectare estate in Los Chacayes in the Uco Valley (one of the prime terroirs of the New World), where today it makes its premium Enzo Bianchi wines. Bodegas Bianchi is soon to celebrate 95 years as one of the oldest family-owned wineries in Argentina. They are an integral part of the community and the livelihood for many families.
Bodegas Bianchi’s Chief Winemaker Silvio Alberto is one of the best-known winemakers and viniculturists in Argentina. He considers Los Chacayes to be among the best terroir in Mendoza. “We have a lot of rocks in our alluvial soils which give a very fresh style to the wines with a mineral component and expressive fruit notes,” Silvio explained. “And the high altitude, 1,100 meters above sea level, also gives us good color, tannin maturation and wines with power.”
Silvio is also excited to make wines from San Rafael—a region with varying altitudes, soils, and varietal characteristics differing from the rest of Mendoza. Silvio created the Oasis Sur Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon to show how unique wines from this “southern oasis” are sourcing the grapes at altitudes of ~2,650 feet.
The Famiglia Bianchi wines label features grapes from both San Rafael and Los Chacayes. The grapes for the Malbec come from three different terroirs—Agrelo in Lujan de Cuyo, Finca Dona Elsa (alluvial-origin soils that also contain calcareous sediment deposits, providing mineral notes in the wine), Finca Constanza and parts of Finca Asti (with more dense, poor soils). The soils of Los Chacayes are alluvial with stones of various sizes, resulting in a heterogeneous landscape. Ripe plum and cherries stand out on the nose, with spice notes typical of San Rafael Malbecs. Floral notes of violets are also present, and all of these, together with the vanilla and chocolate notes from the wines ageing in French oak, achieve a nice complexity of aromas with a remarkable fruit-wood balance.
The Enzo Bianchi has been an icon for many years, as the top wine from San Rafael. The wine represents the greatest responsibility Silvio has to the Bianchi family and their legacy. This is a complex wine, with great structure, gentle tannins, and good acidic balance—making it worthy of flagship status, employing all of Silvio’s winemaking expertise. The grapes are carefully chosen from 30-year-old vines in San Rafael’s Finca Asti Estate and blended to form the best expression of the varieties.
“I am proud of what we’ve accomplished in my first few years with Bodegas Bianchi,” Silvio says, “and happy to help the fourth generation of the family realize greater success and prestige in the future.”
With deep roots in San Rafael, and now firmly planted in one of the most exciting wine growing areas in the Uco Valley, Bodegas Bianchi continues, after more than 90 years, to lead the way for Argentine wines.
~Family Wineries Direct Team