Not so long ago, Salta’s wines were usually thought of as just as challenging as the landscape itself: intense wines, the reds often marked by a heavy-handed use of wood. Today, however, this image no longer corresponds to the reality. Many elements have come together to create this transformation, from the introduction of new varieties and the exploration of different valleys and sub-zones to experimentation in sparkling, white and red winemaking styles. The shift can be traced back to around a decade ago, with Salta winemakers’ growing openness to the path of diversity – of grape varieties, styles, winemakers, terroirs and stories.
Altitude brings extreme daily temperature variation
Passion projects
Key to understanding the modern Salta wine scene is the growth of signature wines: winemakers’ personal projects, guided less by commercial considerations than by passion for winemaking and the terroir itself. Established winemakers are using their personal projects to provide a fresh perspective – artisanal, but still informed by knowledge of the international market.
Alejandro Pepa, for example, winemaker at the historic Bodega El Esteco, is known for his work with old Criolla vineyards. Paco Puga, who oversees winemaking at El Porvenir de Cafayate, is a proud lover of Burgundy, having lived and worked for many years in the region. Bodega Colomé’s Thibaut Delmotte, meanwhile, made the opposite journey, emigrating from his native France to immerse himself in the life of the Calchaquí Valleys.
The talented agronomist Raúl Dávalos Rubio, known as ‘Yeyé’, represents the sixth generation of the historic Dávalos family. Dávalos is responsible for winery operations at the family winery, Bodega Tacuil, deep within the Calchaquí Valleys in Molinos, while also producing wines under the Valle Arriba label. A renowned consultant across the region, he is a founding member of the Bodegas de Salta association.
For winemakers, Salta is a region of extremes
Diverse terroirs demanding new techniques
To make wine in Salta, winemakers must relish a challenge. Salta’s terroir is extremely diverse, even between neighbouring areas such as Cafayate and Tolombón. The task of understanding and harnessing this intricate geography was one of the things that attracted Alejandro Sejanovich to the region. One of the country’s most experienced agronomists, having worked widely across Argentina’s regions, Sejanovich now he serves as winemaker at Estancia Los Cardones in Tolombón.
Salta, explains Sejanovich, is a region of extremes. Compared to other regions, temperature differences are especially marked here because of the elevation – which also leads to great solar intensity, very diverse soils and extremely dry conditions. For Sejanovich, the first challenge is therefore the work in the vineyard: protecting the grapes from dehydration and the impact of the sun, while simultaneously avoiding over-ripeness to protect the grapes’ natural acidity and aromatics.
Vineyards high in the Calchaquí Valleys
Combining legacy and innovation
Many Salta winemakers are heirs to a long vinous tradition – but are nonetheless unafraid to experiment. One of the most fearlessly innovative is Pancho Lavaque, who travelled widely before returning home to run the historic Lavaque Winery.
It’s clear from Lavaque’s Vallisto wines that his family’s long winemaking heritage is no obstacle to experimentation: native yeasts, regenerative viticulture, skin contact and ageing in cement eggs – the list goes on. As well as a fortified wine in the traditional Rancio style (which ages for three years in the open air), Lavaque produces a blend of Ugni Blanc and Riesling from a 50-year-old vineyard on granite-based terroir. While reviving old Tannat vines, he’s also planting Garnacha and Barbera; taken together, Lavaque’s wines offer a fertile mix of past and present.
Increased UV exposure drives grapes to develop thicker skins. Credit: Bodega El Porvenir de Cafayate
A terroir-centred approach
An increasingly detailed focus on terroir is another way the latest generation are revolutionising Salta wine. After working in Barolo and Bordeaux, Agustín Lanús arrived in Salta in 2013 and began delineating and naming different subzones.
He soon decided to register the Altos Terruños brand, solidifying his focus on microvinifying the different terroirs of the Calchaquí Valleys. To understand the character of each plot, Lanús experimented with different elevations, soils, exposures and vintages, and also developed his own rootstocks, as well as reducing the use of oak, seeking to allow the terroir to show through.
In the course of his experiments, Lanús discovered a rare Criolla Blanca in an old vineyard in Luracatao, northwest of Seclantás. Analysis at the Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria showed it to be a previously undiscovered crossing of Criolla Chica and Muscat of Alexandria, which is thought to have naturally occurred there – a new variety offering promising potential.
Winemakers must harness Salta’s intricate geography
Returning home
In many cases, the younger generation has travelled abroad and brought that international experience back to Salta. Clara Isasmendi, a second-generation winemaker, is a prominent example – and her wines have already gained a loyal following within Argentina and beyond. Her family’s winery is based between Cachi and Payogasta (and also works with vineyards in Seclantás and Molinos).
What Isasmendi brings is an international perspective – she spent time living in London and studying the WSET Diploma, while selling her family’s wines abroad. She returned home to Salta in 2022, and is in the process of taking over the family winery, continuing its mission to revitalize the region’s century-old vineyards and produce high-end, handcrafted wines.
Salta boasts a centuries-long viticultural tradition. Credit: Santiago Lofeudo
Creating a community
Paco Puga is renowned as one of the most important Salta winemakers. As well as consulting on several projects, and serving as winemaker at El Porvenir de Cafayate, he somehow finds the time to craft his signature wines with his 24-year-old daughter, oenology student Valentina Puga.
The first wine the Puga family released is one of their most successful: L’amitié. The name was chosen, Paco explains, both as a celebration of friendship and as an expression of gratitude for the years the family has lived in the Calchaquí Valleys. For the Puga family, this is a special place: a dynamic winemaking community and a society rooted in an ancestral respect for nature. L’amitié’s French bottle design pays homage to Paco’s time as a student in Burgundy – underscoring Salta’s connections with the wider wine world, and its well deserved place in the worldwide wine community.
A promising future
Salta may be a small wine-growing region, but its distinctive character makes it impossible to ignore. Each year, more producers choose to settle here to learn from the winemaking community and craft their own expressions. As a new generation of winemakers and fresh ideas continue to make their mark, the region remains a forerunner in exploring the potential of extreme winemaking.
Read more about the wines of Salta:
Salta: Winemaking’s high point
A terroir making its mark – key Salta wines to try
Discover the Salta Wine Trail
Discover more about Bodegas de Salta
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