Bodegas Caro Petit CARO, Rothschild (Lafite) and Nicolas Catena

Description

Bodegas Caro Petit CARO is an Malbec / Cabernet Sauvignon Argentinian red wine blend produced as a joint venture between the world famous Bordeaux produced Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) and one of the very best Argentinian wine producers, the Catena Family. Hence the name CARO i.e CAtena and ROthschild. Petit Caro sits between its little brother, the Amancaya, and their flagship wine CARO.

The Rothschild / Catena joint venture came into being in 1999 with the idea of combining the best of French and Argentinian culture and winemaking and making a blend from the two signature grapes from each producer – Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Bodega Catena Zapata, to give its full name was founded in 1902 and were key in helping to resurrect the Malbec grape variety as well as their pioneering exploration of extreme high altitude terroirs. Today Caro is run by Nicolas’ daughter Laura and Baron Eric de Rothschild’s daughter Saskia de Rothschild. They aim to continue improving the vineyards, wines and the overall sustainability of the whole operation.

Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) are famous for their first growth Bordeaux, Chateau Lafite Rothschild but also have other ventures around the world including Los Vascos in Chile and Chateau d’Aussieres in Corbieres amongst others. Their aim is to produce a wine combining French and Argentinian cultures and the two signature grapes of both families.

The grapes for the Bodegas Caro Petit CARO are sourced from the Mendoza wine-growing region from selected plots of old vines in Lujan de Cuyo just outside Mendoza, and also from Altamira, further South. In Lujan, soils are quite varied depending on how close vineyards are to the mountains or Mendoza River, and tend to form alluvial layers of loam, rock, and gravel. In Altamira, vineyards are planted at 1000m above sea level, on the ancient alluvial bed of the Tunuyan River. The grapes are hand harvested, sorted, destemmed and crushed before fermentation. Maceration was conducted in the traditional way, with pumping overs to ensure gentle extraction.

The blend varies from vintage to vintage but is normally between 60 to 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25 to 40% Malbec. Sometimes with a little (1%) Petit Verdot.