Domingo Molina – Pachamama Malbec 2018 – Cafayate Argentina

Roberto Cipresso co-founded Achaval-Ferrer and made it Argentina's first true cult label. Pachamama is his Salta project with the Domingo family, grown at roughly 2,200 metres in the Valle Rupestre — about as high as commercial viticulture goes anywhere on earth.

🍷 At a Glance

• Grape: 100% Malbec
• Region: Valle Rupestre, San Carlos — Calchaquí Valleys, Salta
• Vintage: 2018
• Producer: Domingo Molina
• Winemakers: Roberto Cipresso and Rafael Domingo
• Altitude: around 2,200 m
• Soil: Alluvial
• Vinification: Hand-harvested, fermented in concrete tanks with local yeasts; 12 months in first- and second-use French oak
• Alcohol: 14.5%
• Serving temperature: 16–18°C
• Style: Dry red wine

👃 Tasting Notes & Experience

• Color: Deep ruby with violet edges
• Nose: Dark fruit with herbal, balsamic lift
• Palate: Full-bodied and dry, savoury rather than sweet
• Structure: Firm tannins carried by high-altitude acidity
• Finish: Long and mineral

Cipresso came to Mendoza in the late 1990s as one of four friends behind Achaval-Ferrer and stayed on as its winemaker through the years that made it Argentina's most sought-after label; he went on to found Matervini with Santiago Achával. Pachamama is the northern chapter of that story, made with Rafael Domingo of the Cafayate family. Altitude does the rest: at 2,200 metres the days are intense and the nights are cold, so the grapes ripen fully while holding onto acid and tannin, which is why a wine this ripe still tastes taut. The result reads more like a mountain red from Europe than a conventional Argentine Malbec. Approachable now and holding well through the next few years.

❤️ Why We Love It

• Made by the Italian oenologist behind Achaval-Ferrer and Matervini
• Grown at an altitude almost no other wine region can match
• Concrete fermentation and restrained oak keep the site in the foreground

🍽️ Food Pairing Ideas

• Grilled beef and chorizo
• Roast kid or lamb with herbs
• Empanadas, spiced stews, hard cheeses

👤 Who This Wine Is For

✓ Anyone following Roberto Cipresso's work beyond Mendoza
✓ Drinkers who want to taste what extreme altitude does to Malbec
✕ Not ideal if you prefer light, low-tannin styles