We are delighted to welcome Bodegas Ribera del Cuarzo from Patagonia to Enotria&Coe’s portfolio of exceptional wines. This boutique winery, nestled in the pristine valleys of Argentina’s southernmost wine region, brings a unique and exciting addition to our range.

This small, family run winery are pioneers of growing vines at the foot of the “barda”, a specific Patagonian landscape, with a steep cliff made of dark grain volcanic rock, with plenty of quartz and carbonate calcium. It is this unique location that makes Ribera del Cuarzo truly stand out.

Patagonia’s cool climate and high-altitude vineyards create ideal conditions for producing wines of incredible purity and finesse. The quartz-rich soils in their vineyards impart a distinct minerality, giving their wines an unparalleled sense of place. The Patagonian wind is a key factor in this area, and the constant breeze along with low ambient humidity conditions combine as a natural mechanism for disease control. Added to this, the area is a biological corridor for flora and fauna across all the planted sites, making it naturally a sustainability-friendly area.

The family’s roots in Patagonia and in winemaking stretch back over 150 years and today the winemaking team is headed up by family member Felipe José Menéndez and the influential winemaker, Nesti Bajda, who was recognised as a Drinks Business Master Winemaker in both 2022 and 2023.

“Patagonia was the place where we spent the summers of my childhood and where I had travelled many times in my youth. It was always a place where I truly found myself at home. Amidst the wind flat topped hills, the enormous open spaces and the gigantic mountains where distances are dwarfed only by an infinite sky the idea of setting up a winery little by little started to materialize. My career in wines started when, as a very young person, I joined the winery of Dr. Nicolas Catena and at his side discovered the fascinating world of wine which has become my life. I Iearned from him every detail of how to cultivate the best grapes, how to produce the best wines and above all how to never ever relinquish in the pursuit of excellence.

Finally, the day arrived—the moment when I could merge my love for my Patagonian homeland with the unwavering passion for wine instilled within me since childhood. This unique opportunity, which we tirelessly pursue each day, is embodied in the name of Bodega Ribera del Cuarzo. Here, we strive to craft the finest wines, honouring our heritage and expressing the essence of our beloved land.” - Winemaker Felipe José Menéndez Arguelles

The result? Wines with remarkable freshness, elegance, and structure.

RIBERA DEL CUARZO MASTERCLASS

DATE | Tuesday 29th October

TIME | Start 2:00pm – finish 3:30pm

VENUE | Fazenda Rodizio Bar & Grill, 100 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 1GT

To mark the official launch of Ribera del Cuarzo into our portfolio, we are hosting a special masterclass. Ribera del Cuarzo winemaker Felipe José Menéndez will guide you through his exceptional wines, crafted at the foot of the barda (a very Patagonian landscape that refers to the steep slope composed of dark grain of volcanic rock, with plenty of quartz, carbonate calcium and calcareous). Discover how this unique terroir, distinct climate and meticulous winemaking make Ribera del Cuarzo wines truly unique.

RSVP to Sophie Caley [email protected] by Monday 21st October.

Try Bodegas Ribera del Cuarzo’s Range

L7876121 | Ribera del Cuarzo Clásico 2022 | £28.31 List Price per bottle ex VAT Duty Paid List Price (75cl)

Ribera del Cuarzo Clásico is all precision and finesse - a pure note of blue-black fruit, sweet cream and rising dough fills the room when a glass is poured. As the wine opens up, green pinecones, sticky with sap, juicy cherries, vivid purple bilberries and fat clusters of blue-bloomed black grapes. With an evocative violet character, and hints of liquorice and cedary pencil shavings, this has an elegance that echoes cru classé Médoc Bordeaux: an impression underscored by its lithe, fine-boned structure. An exquisite wine, this will impress now and should develop beautifully with bottle age. This is the produce of eight vineyards, which together showcase the diversity of the classic area of the Río Negro valley.

L7886122| Ribera del Cuarzo Especial 2022 | £32.16 List Price per bottle ex VAT Duty Paid List Price (75cl)

Ribera del Cuarzo Especial is a wine of dense-packed black fruit, liquorice, peaty earth, damp forest soil and rich, moist, sticky dark chocolate brownie. If Clásico is a pure, single note, this is a resonant chord of high treble and deep bass, with great amplitude and vocal range, and utter harmony. Velvet texture, junipery complexity, all underpinned by an umami richness. Drink this magnificent wine now and over the next 7-10 years. Exclusively from the 5-hectare Araucana Vineyard, whose calcareous soils, cool nights and strong winds result in wines with excellent concentration and marked natural acidity.

L7866120 | Ribera del Cuarzo Parcela Unica 2010 | £75.67 List Price per bottle ex VAT Duty Paid List Price (75cl)

Ribera del Cuarzo Parcela Única fuses the smoothness and multifaceted complexity of Especial with the pinpoint precision of Clásico. It is a basket of just-picked black cherries and foraged black truffles, a handful of pink peppercorns and crushed juniper, weather-washed Welsh wet slate, liquorice bootlace and an inhalation of the year's first vernal violet. It is a perfectly proportioned, impeccably-tailored sartorial suit of finely-woven tannins; a wine of polish and minute detail that elicits a haunting sense of place. Drink now and be impressed, although its balance and intensity should allow for a decade's development in the bottle. Made from the finest grapes, carefully selected from the prime plot, in the southwest quadrant of the Araucana Vineyard. The elevated limestone composition of the soil and relentless winds impart heightened potency and finesse.