Barrel tasting at El Lagar Carmelo Patti

Carmelo Patti wine tour

El Lagar Carmelo Patti is one of the best wineries to visit in Mendoza. It's not the facility like Vistalba or the view like Ruca Malén that make the visit great, but the personalized tour given by the winemaker himself, Carmelo Patti. A knowledgeable and friendly man, it's clear that the wine maker has passion and pride for what he does. When other wineries would ask what wineries we've visited and we mentioned Carmelo Patti, generally a big smile would come to the tour guide's face.

The most interesting part of the tour was the barrel tasting of his 2007 and 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. In the tasting room, we enjoyed a 2002 Cabernet, which really gave us an interesting evolution of the varietal at different years and stages. The next wines to taste were his 2002 Malbec and incredible blend, Gran Assemblage.

You can purchase Carmelo Patti in the United States through Southern Wine Group. Your local liquor store may sell it as well.

Carmelo Patti philosophy

One of the most important things to Patti is making sure his red wines have been in the bottle for at least 3 years before selling them. While many other wineries try to release their wines right away, Patti won't sell his wines until he feels they are ready.

A tip he shared before the end of the tour was to take the top foil off a bottle of wine before aging it, to allow for the smallest bit of oxygenation during the aging process. Take a look at the cork and make sure you can't see any evidence of leaking.