The recently concluded 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), established by English wine critic Stephen Spurrier in 2004, saw wines produced in Argentina win a whopping 41 top medals across all categories in their best-ever showing at the world’s largest and most influential competition. The awards show, staged by British wine publication Decanter, saw 18,244 wines from 54 countries competing for trophies, medals (platinum, gold, silver, bronze) as well as coveted wine scores that define a wine’s global ranking. At this 19th edition of the competition, Argentina won a total of 13 platinum medals with 4 being among the top 50 ‘best in show’ wines selected from platinum winners only. The country also won 24 gold medals and 4 silver medals from a judging panel of approximately 250 international wine experts that included 54 Masters of Wine and 16 Master Sommeliers.

This was a particularly successful year for Argentina whose medal tally increased from 14 awarded at the 2021 staging of the event. Medals awarded at the DWWA are, in the first instance, broken down into the standard gold, silver and bronze categories. Gold-winning entrants are then re-tasted to award platinum medals to the best wines. In the final judging, platinum winners are re-tasted to assign the competition’s top wines, designated the best in show. Wines are also scored throughout the judging process which leads to their final global ranking. All four platinum medal-winning wines from Argentina received a score of 97 out of 100 points and today, we will explore the first of four along with the bodega in which it is produced.

The IV Generación Gran Corte by Bodegas Bianchi, a 2019 red blend vintage that comprises 60% Malbec, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot, forms part of the winery’s Bianchi IV Generation line that was officially launched in 2021. Produced from vineyards located in Mendoza’s Uco Valley, it was aged in French oak barrels for up to 12 months and presents an incredible depth of violet and black colour tones. On the palate, the intensity of fresh aromas and deep notes, where red and black fruits are mixed with spicy hints of thyme and black pepper, pay homage to the minerality of the Los Chacayes terroir where it is grown. In the mouth its structure is evident as each of the varieties contributes to its notes: such as the sweet hints of Malbec, the fine and balanced tannins of Merlot, and the power of Cabernet Sauvignon. This combination gives the wine great complexity in its finish and evolution that is balanced by the soft touches of chocolate and vanilla provided by the aging in French oak, resulting in a complex yet seductive wine.

Bodegas Bianchi operates two wineries in the Mendoza region: Uco Valley, its newest winery where its icon labels are made, and San Rafael its first winery where its sparkling and other varieties are aged to perfection. Founded in 1928 by Valentin Bianchi, a teacher by profession, its genesis began many years before when the founder left Italy in 1910 at age 23 and settled in San Rafael, Mendoza with a dream of opening his own winery. Relentless in his pursuit to produce the best wines in the world, Don Valentin first opened El Chiche (the small winery of great wines) 18 years after first arriving, then set about importing European strains of grapes that he subsequently adapted to the climatic and geographic characteristics of the San Rafael area. As his vineyards grew, so did his authentic heritage as a winemaker in Argentina which in turn evolved into what is now known as Bodegas Bianchi.

Since then, the legacy of Don Valentín has continued with his son, Don Enzo Bianchi whose three children Valentín, Raúl and Sylvia, together with their cousins, the Stradellas, forged this great wine family that continues to produce high-quality varietals, across five distinct categories, that have been recognised and awarded internationally. Today, after more than 90 years and over four generations, the Bianchi family maintains the values and historical legacy, represented in a line of unique wines that highlight the best particularities of the different vineyards that the family owns in San Rafael and Valle de Uco.

IV Generación Gran Corte by Bodegas Bianchi forms part of the winery’s icon line, which also includes a Gran Malbec, and represents the vision of the young members of the family, showcasing their identity as a new generation in the winery. The fourth generation proudly receives the family legacy and, though focused on the present, is firmly committed to the future.