Although the winemaker's day is September 7; commemorating when President Domingo Sarmiento inaugurated the Quinta Normal de San Juan in 1862; a single day is not enough to honor those who dedicate their lives to bottling pleasure for millions of people each year.

It is true that wine is born in the vineyard and that the French concept of “terroir” is derived from this. But also, that wine would not exist without the action of man. That is why the fundamental formula behind each label is soil + climate + human action. The special thing about the place with its climate will offer the possibility of obtaining high quality grapes. And it is from there that the maker can aspire to achieve a great wine, defining the type of pruning, the management of the canopy of the plant and irrigation throughout the year. Afterwards, < mark>most importantly, the harvest point. And then its vinification. So many things happen and so many planets must align for a bottle of wine to reach the consumer's table just as the winemaker envisioned. That is why wine is much more than a drink, through the glasses it allows you to travel to its origin and learn about the history of its author.

Of course, over time, the prestige of a place has transcended the wineries and the people, especially in the Old World (Europe), where they have been making wine in different regions for many years. Therefore, it is not a novelty that the best wines in the world come from specific places, with history and well-deserved prestige.

But wine is not made alone, especially not in Argentina. Here, came first the varietals; as in the New World; those who managed to shake the board. But that fashion did not last long. Then, the wines from places began to arrive. And hand in hand with precision viticulture, we went from large areas such as Valle de Uco, to wines from unique plots within the same valley; For example. And although this allowed the Lujan de Cuyo Denomination of Origin to be rescued from oblivion, and to create several GIs (Geographical Indications) of places with great potential, today things are happening elsewhere . Because what is important is not so much the place itself, but the interpretation that each maker can make of that place. Therefore, covering a place through its best wines without going hand in hand with a maker, does not make much sense. Because it is not only a question of the soil of a place and its climate, but also of a person putting their mark to be able to bottle that landscape, and to be able to reveal it in the glasses.

Undoubtedly in Argentina, the beginning of the 21st century can be called “the era of winemakers”, and one of the referents, of the few that already have more than 45 vintages to their credit and thousands of high-end wines produced, is José “Pepe” Galante. Formator and reflection for the new generations, "Pepe" belongs to that elite of the greatest Argentine winemakers, the most experienced for a matter of trajectory. A maker who always honored his last name in the style of his (elegant) wines . And since it is one hundred percent dedicated to the Uco Valley, it seems to have been reborn vinically. Because after almost three decades in charge of Catena Zapata, in 2010 he arrived in Salentein, and caused a revolution, not only in the wines of the winery but also in the region.

But the most valuable thing for Pepe Galante is having been able to conquer the dream of making his own wines, those that are made with the family, to taste and pleasure, thinking more about the grandchildren than about the market or the sales on duty. Without having the pressure of having to respond to market demands, but with the certainty that his experience is enough to make his Puramun. known.

A history of wines and life

When José Galante began working as a winemaker, around the vintage 1976, in the Uco Valley and Vistalba some wines were bought only to tint those from the East; the great area of ​​Mendoza production. From that first vintage to this 2022 that has already begun, 46 vintages have passed, enough to recognize him as one of the greatest winemakers in Argentine history. Such a title is too small for him, because Pepe still has a long way to go.

Pepe's luck was always to be linked to high-end wines. In its early years, behind labels such as Valderrobles and Saint Felicien, and today showing off with Primus, Salentein Single Vineyards and Numina de Salentein, and all its Puramun.

This allowed him to taste the grapes forever, to be able to understand each variety before arriving at the winery, and thus be able to plan better based on the wine to be made. Back then, his agronomist colleagues worked quantity over quality. There was no talk of thinning clusters, or shoots, or defoliation. The great wines came from the oldest vineyards because they balanced themselves, naturally.

In 1990, it was his first outdoor vintage, with Paul Hobbs in Napa Valley. From that trip he returned shocked by high technology and its implementation.

Until then, Pepe oxygenated all his wines with bronze pumps. After a year, the wines were all standardized by the passage of time and oxidation. Immediately he threw out all the wood and replaced the old barrels with stainless steel tanks, began to measure oxygen and focused on assembling work teams, with the valuable old-school people.

Her quiet passion for wine runs in the family. His grandfather came from Italy and had his own winery in the East. His father also worked as a manager in a winery, but he wanted a more promising future for his son; be an accountant One day of study, returning from Mendoza a little overwhelmed by numbers, he decided to get off at Rodeo del Medio and go to find out about oenology at Don Bosco.

Pepe Galante does not hesitate to point to the priest Oreglia , founder of the faculty, as the benchmark of a group of professionals who changed Argentine wine forever. And while he was studying for his degree in oenology, the priest showed him what was being done in the world, with a very Italian approach. It was there that he first heard a discussion about terroir, and the definition that marked it forever: the interaction between soil, man, and climate.

With a very low profile and a fan of Chardonnay, he knows that achieving a great wine is the sum of many details. That is why for years he has relied on research to understand where he is standing, and where he has to go. Always looking more at what he is going to do than stopping at what he did well.

He loves making Cabernet Sauvignon, and acknowledges that cost him Bonarda and Merlot, which suffers greatly in Mendoza. He says “he's an albino who was brought to live in the southern hemisphere.”

He can't keep wine because he drinks it. What's more, with Betty, his lifelong wife, every night he they drink a bottle of wine. And on Sundays, when the family gets together and gloats over their five grandchildren, between four and five bottles are uncorked at home, because her children are also wine fanatics.

Since 2010 he has been in Salentein and fully installed in the Uco Valley. And in these years it can be said that it has revolutionized the wines of the winery, and also of the valley. He moves and speaks with the patience of those who know. But his passion goes from within, and that is shown in these wines that reflect his personality as he is; classic and elegant. They do not impress at the first sip, but they do attract attention, and just one glass is enough to understand their message.

Puramun are wines from very limited batches that began to be sold only abroad. But he, like few others, knows that you have to be a prophet in your land, and the importance of having your labels as well available in the domestic market. But in a small family winery, everything is done by lung. Production, sales, logistics. Even for Eliana and Fernando, their children, who collaborate with the family business, saw the advantages of being "Pepe's children" in the world of wine, although that does not exempt them from making great efforts to make the business increasingly sustainable. And while they started out selling the wines in a few select wine bars, today the Puramuns are seen in many more stores across the country and in top restaurants.

The personal wines of “Pepe” galante

“The philosophy and style of our wines points to very fresh and fruity, fine and elegant wines”, describes the maker. Like the vast majority of Argentine wine projects, Puramun began by focusing on Malbec, with an exponent “Reserva” and another high-end one, co-fermented with Petit Verdot, and thought more for the guardian; That is why it always reaches the market with at least five years of life.

To achieve his first Reserva Malbec (2013), he used grapes from different places in the Uco Valley, Eugenio Bustos; “I like this place because the Malbecs, although they are austere at the beginning of their life, later they grow and are very long-lived, with great elegance and finesse, a firm and silky tannin texture that takes time to mature”; it states. Combining them with Vista Flores grapes; “these are more modern, with a very present fruit, tannins and good body, with a lot of freshness on the palate”; ensures. And finally from the Chacayes area; “These Malbecs have an expression that I personally define as more exotic, they have everything one looks for in a Malbec, although they may seem somewhat rare from a traditional point of view”; he says enthusiastically.

Then came the Puramun Co-fermented based on Malbec and Petit Verdot with a lot of life since the vineyard. The grapes are harvested and fermented together, which requires great sensitivity from the author to visualize the final cut of the wine directly from the vineyard.

“The result of an intense search for the perfect partner for Malbec. A partner that helps it to have more body, volume and length in the mouth. And in this sense, Petit Verdot is undoubtedly the perfect partner: it never competes with Malbec and enhances it”, Pepe maintains. And he adds, "it seems to me that speaking of high-end Malbec, the path that the varietal is following is more oriented towards reflecting the place and I have no doubt that the appearance of GIs (Geographical Indications) are a clear demonstration of this." ensures.

For Pepe, the keys for Malbec to continue being the emblematic variety of Argentina lie in the great adaptability it has had to our soil and climate. “Malbec grows and expresses itself better in poor soils, and it found them in Argentina. In a continental desert climate, with little rainfall and low relative humidity. There, Malbec grows free of the cryptogamic diseases to which it is sensitive; that risk in Argentina is lower. And finally, and it seems to me that this is the main reason, Malbec loves the sun and here it has a lot of sun available, and its entire aromatic palette is greatly stimulated by that luminosity and the polyphenolic charge; especially in the Malbecs of height.

Then Chardonnay was added, one of his greatest strengths and weaknesses, when it comes to drinking, since it is the white wine he is most passionate about. In this wine the harmony is quite fine, there is a great selection of grapes and an earlier harvest, with a more measured use of barrels, with the idea of ​​achieving in each harvest a Chardonnay with typicality and the freshness of the place, with a fruity character that sits on the nose and mouth, but always balanced.

@brennx0r @LocalMilkRun We're on every other week but might bump up to weekly because Jonathan learned how to air f… https://t.co/8KHCDlO4oB

— Steph Hippo Thu Jan 28 06:45:12 +0000 2021

Puramun's Cabernet Franc arrives due to market demands, but also because it is a strain that Pepe Galante knows very well, since he was the creator of Angélica Zapata 2002. And you know that in the Uco Valley it happens in a special way. “Our Cabernet Franc is a wine made with grapes from Paraje Altamira in the Uco Valley. This area is located at 1500 masl. The soil here has the particularity of being located where the alluvial cone of the Tunuyán River used to be. It presents aromas typical of the variety, with slightly herbal and fruity notes. The style we are looking for is slightly herbal on the nose and frankly fruity on the palate, with a lot of freshness on the finish,” the maker highlights.

As a novelty, it is about to present its Pinot Noir, vintage 2020.

“Something that I have been thinking about for several years now is to make our Gran Pepe, we are working with the old clay vessels, the old clay jars, in alliance with the oak, with which we consider, we have a lot of experience". Of course, always with grapes from the Uco Valley. “This is the wonderful thing about the world of wine, everything is so dynamic that we never considered having reached the goal, we have to keep working, thinking and innovating to offer consumers the best version of our wines", he highlights. It is clear that in Puramun you can work in that direction because they are your own wines, and through them you can transmit the passion, love and vision of a whole family dedicated to wine.

However, based on its trajectory, it is easy to guess that a Cabernet Sauvignon could soon be coming, since together with Chardonnay they are the two most appreciated grapes by the winemaker< /b>. He has also produced great wines with them since the late 80s, some of which are still expressive and balanced.

Pepe Galante's fanaticism for the king of red wines is known and recognized in large national labels (Estiba Reservada, Angélica Zapata, Primus and Salentein Gran Valle de Uco). Although in the heights of Uco it is not an easy task, that is why the search continues. He has already identified clone 169 (the most widespread in Mendoza) and 337, which is not as powerful but provides finesse, and he knows that before harvesting the wing (a protruding part of the bunch) must be sacrificed to achieve better concentration natural from grains. That is to say that its level of detail has gone beyond the plots, rows or plants; has reached the cluster. Something like a stylist's viticulture. He also knows that harvesting at the right time achieves more blackcurrant character and much less vegetable.

He will never forget his first wine, precisely a Cabernet Sauvignon, but from Santa Rosa, made together with his great traveling companion, Pedro Marchevsky, in 1986. And while those wines evolved in large oak barrels; where they could only rust and "remain without wood"; Without knowing the success that would await them when they reached the market, Diego Maradona scored the two memorable goals against the English in Mexico.

Puramun is more a family project than a personal one, because everyone participates in all the decisions, although each one has their area of ​​influence. Even Bety, Pepe's wife, is a great taster. Currently he divides his day to day between Salentein and the family winery; always within the Uco Valley; but he also dedicates a lot of time to sports (cycling) and to his grandchildren.

And although there are many winemakers younger than him doing their thing in the area; challenging wine limits and giving birth to wines that are as original on the outside as they are on the inside; Pepe's experience shows. Because patience is something that is acquired over the years. And this is fed by the confidence of being clear about where you want to go and which way you have to go. In other words, while many are searching, Pepe has already arrived, of course, after a tireless search throughout his professional life. And although each harvest poses a new challenge, there are technical issues that for him are already out of the question, achieving a consistency in his wines worthy of admiration.

He was the creator of the great Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Malbec that served as a springboard for an entire wine generation to be able to shine in the world today with the brand new Argentine wines. And today it is in his favorite place, because the Uco Valley is a dream land for him.

To achieve great wines, beyond the balance of the plants and the best viticultural management, you have to know which clone to choose and how to vinify it to obtain what you want. And that which is intended, is first in the head of the oenologist, and only after a couple of years can it begin to be seen in the winery. That is why the clarity of the winemaker is very important. Because you can always look for the best wine, but in order to achieve it you have to know where to go.

Pepe is celebrating his first 46 harvests the way he wants. With family and making wines that shake palates, here and around the world.

The signature wines of José “Pepe” Galante

Puramun Reserve Malbec 2016

Puramun Winery, Uco Valley $1350

Malbec with balanced aromas, more vegetal than fruity, with very good freshness and a certain grip that adds character and highlights the origin of the grapes. A frank palate with touches of maturity, a harmonious and fresh drink, with a classic vivacity, but also with strength in the end of the mouth. It does not exaggerate in its fruity expression, but it is a wine with aromas and flavors of a classic style, with elegance and a very modern texture. Points: 91

Puramun Co-fermented 2015

Puramun Winery, Uco Valley $2100

Complex fruity aromas, balanced by the passage of time, with notes of raisins and wet earth. Good volume and a final freshness with herbal hints that provide persistence to each drink. With fine biting textures, it fills the mouth with a certain classicism and hints of aging. To uncork or save. Points: 92

Puramun Reserve Chardonnay 2019

Puramun, Uco Valley, Mendoza $1350

José "Pepe" Galante's experience with this variety is evident in all its exponents, but here he also puts his personal taste. Combining grapes from Paraje Altamira and Los Chacayes, he achieves a white with marked acidity and a clear fruity character. Creamy textures, despite its partial malolactic fermentation, and a balanced finish in which the aging appears slightly (9 months in 20% new French barrels, 80% second and third use). Points: 91

Puramun Reserve Cabernet Franc 2018

Puramun, Altamira area, Uco Valley, Mendoza $1350

Here the typicity of the cepaje is very noticeable, with its typical vegetal and herbal aromas, with hints of maturity. With a good body and incipient tannins, there is strength and firm textures, but also meatiness to contain them. It is a wine that reflects the vintage and can gain more balance in the bottle. Points: 91

CONTINUE READING