A remarkable discovery we made in this most remote corner of Catamarca province in Northern Argentina. This wine is produced by the Cafayate Prelature of the Roman Catholic church in Santa Maria, Catamarca. The winery was set up by the Augustinian Monks 35 years ago, amongst other reasons to help the many small producers of grapes in the area. Conditions of growth are dry and over 2000 metres above sea level, which offers cool nights and not too hot daytimes during maturation.
A wine made by allowing the Torrontes grape juice to ferment to a level where the residual sugar is about 83 grams per litre. The fermentation is arrested by adding a very fine wine alcohol which in turn takes the overall grade up to about 16.5% proof. It has hence a high dry matter level (98 grams/litre). The natural glycerine level is also high (7 gr/lt) giving the wine a very pleasant texture that is readily felt on the palate.
