Juanfa Suarez is a wine grower in Valle de Uco in southern Mendoza where he manages two wineries, Finca Suarez and Rocamadre. We have visited him many times on our wine tours to South America. So, we were very happy to see that one of his wines, Rocamadre Criolla, is now sold in Sweden. But even if you do not live in Sweden, we recommend you to be on the lockout for this exciting wine (or any other from his two wineries). Juanfa is a very talented winemaker and the fact that the wine is made from two criolla grapes adds to the interest.
Criolla is the name given to the grapes in South America that were brought there by the Spanish in the 17th century, such as listán negro, listan prieto, moscatel de alejandría and pedro ximénez. Also the spontaneous crossings that then took place on site between these grapes are called criolla. So, originally European, but most are almost forgotten here. Read more on criolla in these articles on BKWine Magazine.
Rocamadre Criolla is made from criolla grande, which is a crossing, and criolla chica, with is listan prieto, also called país in Chile and mission in California.
Juanfa has his vineyards in Paraje Altamira, an appellation in the Valle de Uco, known for its special terroir with, among other things, a lot of limestone. The grapes are grown at high altitude with significant temperature differences between day and night. Wine from criolla grapes have previously been drunk almost only by the Argentineans themselves, but now consumers on the export markets are more and more beginning to appreciate the grapes’ fresh, fruity and juicy style.
We contacted Juanfa who is of course thrilled to be in Sweden. He tells our readers “that the wine is easy to drink but it has texture and the site´s character”. So definitely worth trying. (In Sweden: Rocamadre Criolla 2022, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina, No. 94124, SEK 219.)
Travel: Come on a wine tour to Argentina and Chile with BKWine.
