Bodega San Pedro de Yacohuya sits at the foot of the Salta Mountain Range, with spectacular views of the Valles Calchaquíes. Its estate vineyard is located in a privileged part of one of the highest wine regions in the world. It was because of this vineyard that Arnold Etchart enticed Michel Rolland to come to Cafayate in 1988. Rolland came to explore the wine making potential of this old Malbec vineyard. They formed a partnership to produce wines from that Yacohuya vineyard. Their focus was to produce red wines in an area primarily known for its white wines, Torrontes.
 |
Valley View, Bodega Yacochuya © Spaswinefood
|
Soon we approach the winery, with its cacti lined entrance.
 |
| Cacti Lined Entrance, San Pedro de Yacochuya © Spaswinefood |
 |
| San Pedro de Yacochuya Vineyard © Spaswinefood |
 |
| Cacti, San Pedro de Yacochuya © Spaswinefood |
Bodega San Pedro de Yacochuya Wines
Although Bodega San Pedro de Yacohuya is a newer winery it owned by a family with a long tradition in wine making. The vineyard at Finca Yacochuya is primarily dedicated to old vine Malbec, with smaller sections of Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat, and Torrontes. From their estate vineyard and other vineyards the winery produces three lines of wines.
 |
| Bodega San Pedro de Yacochuya © Spaswinefood |
 |
| The Bodega, San Pedro de Yacochuya © Spaswinefood |
I was indeed excited to taste the wines being produced here.
 |
| Wine tasting, Yacochuya © Spaswinefood |
 |
| Bodega San Pedro de Yacochuya © Spaswinefood |
 |
| Painted Wine Barrel, Bodega San Pedro de Yacochuya © Spaswinefood |
We tasted their 2015 and 2014 vintages produced under the labels of Coquena, San Pedro de Yacochuya, and Yacochuya. Let' take a brief look at these labels:
1. Coquena is a basic line. It is produced with their own grapes and grapes from other vineyards.
2. San Pedro de Yacochuya is an intermediate line. It is produced with grapes from their own vineyards of about 10 years old.
3. Yacochuya is the top line which uses only their vineyard grapes, with vines up to 100 years old in some cases. This wine style has been described having Rolland's trademark of great body and structure.
The wines we tasted included:
Coquena and San Pedro de Yacochuya 2015 Wines
 |
Coquena and San Pedro de Yacochuya 2015 Wines © Spaswinefood
Bodega Yacochuya, Coquena Torrontes 2015
|
 |
Bodega Yucochuya, Coquena Torrontes 2015 © Spaswinefood
|
San Pedro de Yacochuya Torrontes 2015
 |
| San Pedro de Yacochuya Torrents 2015 © Spaswinefood |
Bodega Yacochuya, Malbec Rosado 2015
 |
Bodega Yacochuya, Malbec Rosado 2015 © Spaswinefood
 |
Bodega Yacochuya, Malbec Rosado 2015 © Spaswinefood
|
|
Bodega Yacochuya, Malbec 2015
 |
| Bodega Yacochuya, Malbec 2015 © Spaswinefood |
 |
| Bodega Yacochuya, Malbec 2015 |
Tasting the 2015 wines provided me a great introduction to their first two lines of wine.
Yacochuya and San Pedro de Yacochuya 2014 Wines
 |
| Yacochuya and San Pedro de Yacochuya 2014 © Spaswinefood |
Yacochuya, Michel Rolland 2014
 |
Yacochuya, Michel Rolland 2014 © Spaswinefood
|
San Pedro de Yacochuya 2014
 |
| San Pedro de Yacochuya 2014 © Spaswinefood |
 |
| San Pedro de Yacochuya 2014 © Spaswinefood |
Obviously, their 2014 wines showed greater depth in body and structure. I have read that their early 2000 wines are highly sought after; so 2004 is indeed on the list. This should not surprise you given the wine making knowledge behind the labels. It was indeed a special day to taste these wines.
San Pedro de Yacochuya, Michel Rolland 2004
 |
San Pedro de Yacochuya, Michel Rolland 2004 © Spaswinefood
|
There are obviously amazing stories to be told about these wines from Yacochuya.
 |
| Yacochuya, Cafayate, Salta © Spaswinefood |
I look forward to the future wine stories that will fill these glasses. Bodega Yacochuya was amongst the Cafayate wineries that we visited for the first time. After visiting I was not surprised to discover that a Winerist article lists it amongst the 5 Top wineries to visit in Salta. We so enjoyed discovering their special wines. In future posts I look forward to writing about our other discoveries on Salta’s Ruta Del Vino.
 |
| Vineyard View, Bodega San Pedro de Yacochuya © Spaswinefood |
 |
| Valley View, Bodega San Pedro de Yacochuya © Spaswinefood |
Things to do In/Near Cafayate
Besides wine explorations along Cafayate’s Ruta Del Vino just north of Cafayate, on Ruta 68, there are beautiful canyons to explore. We enjoyed exploring the scenic Quebrada de Cafayate. Also, if you journey north on Ruta 40 to Molinos there you can take a ripio (gravel) road detour to visit Colomé Winery, one of Argentina’s top wineries. Cafayate, home to indigenous people, the Kallchaki is also known as the Cradle of Folklore.
 |
| Cafayate, Salta © Spaswinefood |
Getting to/from Cafayate
It is in part the remoteness of Cafayate that makes it special. Cafayate does not have an airport and is only accessible by car or bus. The shortest route (Ruta 68) is 165 kilometers of winding road from Salta, capital city of Salta Province. Flights to Salta from Buenos Aires and other major cities in Argentina are available on Aerolinas Argentinas and other carriers. It is well worth the effort because Cafayate wineries are indeed special. Moreover Cafayate offers a good range of choices for restaurants and accommodations. While in Cafayate we stayed at Patios de Cafayate at Bodega El Esteco, a perfect place to return after wine country explorations.
Cafayate is an absolute must for wine enthusiasts. Cafayate is a very special place. Naturally this Spaswinefood enthusiast looks forward to writing about our Argentine wine country explorations. You can check out my travels in Argentina and elsewhere at Spaswinefood.
Sharon
January 2017
Cafayate, Salta Province
Argentina
© Spaswinefood
 |
| Entrance, Bodega San Pedro de Yacochuya © Spaswinefood |
 |
| Bodega San Pedro de Yacochuya Offerings © Spaswinefood |
No comments:
Post a Comment