Ñandú

Ñandú Malbec comes from hillside vineyards in the Mendoza region of Argentina. Located 60 miles east of the town of San Rafael, these vineyard sites rise to 1,200 feet above sea level—an altitude that helps temper the region’s warm sun, yielding grapes of exceptional balance and structure. It’s a challenging area to cultivate, with desert-like conditions and frequent hail threatening crops, but the resulting wine is worth the myriad risks.

Ñandú was founded by the Portet family, one of Napa Valley’s pioneering winemaking families. Bernard Portet founded Clos du Val in Napa Valley and Domaine Nizas in France. The Portets named this new wine Ñandú after the large, flightless bird native to Mendoza. Just as the Ñandú is indigenous to this region, the increasingly-popular Malbec has become Mendoza’s flagship grape variety.

Ñandú is deep purple in color, with dark plum and currant aromas and flavors accented by hints of root beer and spice. The wine’s velvety texture carries into a long, smooth finish.