The wineries of Salta are actually almost all in Cafayate, a day trip away. I could only visit one winery, and Domingo Molina was recommended to me. The vineyards are amongst those at the highest elevation in the world. The other intriguing aspect are the cacti near by.
The winery is young, established in 2009, but vines go back to 2000. Production is about 40,000 cases per annum. The first wine I tasted was the 2016 Malbec. This black cherry focussed wine is a bit fruity and forward. The 14.5% alcohol is too high for this wine (86 points). The M2, from two vineyards, has slightly finer tannins, but lacks structure (88 points). The 2015 Mortero is a blend of 5 varieties, with Malbec dominating at 82%. There is a bit more complexity and age here, but it is still quite a fruity wine (89 points). The 2014 Tannat has more intensity, but also more alcohol (88 points). The 2015 Tannat Yeta was more elegant, but again too alcoholic (90 points).
Overall, winemaking needs to change to make these wines better. The young fruit looks good, but the yields are too high (10t/ha), and the picking is too late leading to alcoholic and burnt flavours. There is also not enough rigour on the sorting table, in my view.
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