Hacienda del Plata

One of the things that I most treasure in this world is the discovery of places where you do not feel the presence of time. I find this highly ironic as I used to live my life guided by the clock. Well, believe me, things have changed and that concept has gone to hell in a handbasket. So when I stumbled upon Hacienda del Plata, I knew that I had found another one of these gems. The minute I walked through the gate I was immediately impacted by the great beauty and tranquility of the place. It was as if I had stepped back into a time warp and landed in what was Argentina in it’s pioneer days. The energy emanating from the land was strong and vibrant, and most importantly you could tell that it had been tended to with love. As I headed towards the 100 year old family homestead I knew that there was definitely something special about this vineyard…

I was immediately given a warm and friendly greeting by the owner, Pablo Gonzaléz. The best words I can use to describe Pablo are “salt of the earth.” There was nothing pretentious about this winery owner, and as we toured the vineyard and winery, he spoke with a genuine passion and love for the land and wines that are produced from it.

The Gonzaléz family have a fascinating family history and are one of the few traditional family wineries still left. The family originally immigrated from Spain to Argentina in the late 1800’s, early 1900’s. Many families during that period in history were immigrating from Europe to Argentina. There was a famine taking place in Europe and many families opted to leave and start over in Argentina. And here they all started their lives over. Many of these families already had a wine making background and brought these traditions here with them. The Gonzaléz family however did not have a wine making background, rather they started over as cattle ranchers. A traditional gaucho history.

The family first arrived in Buenos Aires. During this period in history, land was being practically given away, therefore the family ended up buying 30,000 hectares of land between Córdoba and Santiago de Chile. Here they began raising cattle and started doing cattle runs between the two cities. Now, if you have seen the Andes mountain range, imagine trying to drive a herd of cattle through them. This is not an easy feat. However they had mountain gauchos (gauchos cordilleranos) that knew the mountains like the back of their hand and were able to drive the cattle through. Once in Chile they would sell them and bring back provisions for the family and then start the process over again with a new cattle drive.

Having the 30,000 hectares of land allowed the gauchos stopping points along the way. There were three principal homesteads on this land, one being Hacienda del Plata, the other a farm in Córdoba, and the third the main family household in Potrerillos. The property in Potrerillos was the principal household before they sold it to the government. The homestead was fairly isolated as it was located on the opposite side of the Mendoza river, therefore there were only two ways to access the property. One, through horseback in the mountains, the second via platform. From the house to a point across the river, there was a cable with a wooden platform attached to it. The family would haul themselves up onto this platform and pulley themselves across the river. It was like an old fashioned form of ziplining. A very pioneering family to say the least. This property was one of the most beautiful and if you visit the winery you can see a painting of the property nestled in the mountains.

So this is how the family started out. They didn’t actually start winemaking until 1997. It was Pablo, the current owner who is 4^th generation, who decided to add the element of a winery to the family business. When his mother passed away, his father, who had been running the family business up until this point, decided he needed a break. Therefore the children came in and took over. At this point the family’s business consisted of a dairy farm in Córdoba, farms of soy, wheat and corn, and the vineyards and fruit orchards in Mendoza. Although they have always had the vineyards they never elected to make wine with them and sold the fruit to other wineries. However they were now going to change that.

They began constructing the winery and started learning about the winemaking process. The family no longer had the cattle ranching aspect of the family business, however they used this important part of the family history as an inspiration for the new one they were creating. During Don Carlos’s latter years on the property, he had written a journal with many memories and anecdotes of his time on the land, with the family and with the gauchos. As Pablo read through his father’s journal after his death, he decided to create the lines of wines based on stories and anecdotes that his father had written. The first line of Hacienda wines is called “Zagal”, which means young boy. In the gaucho system there is a hierarchy, the base level being the young boys who would help out on the property. In the journal one of the things that his father had noted was their willingness to help, their passion for life and their enthusiasm. Therefore they chose this name for their younger line of wines. The personality of these wines are more fruity, robust, exuding the image of the Zagal.

The second line of wines is called Arriero. The Arriero is the man who used to herd the cattle. Because Carlos spent so much time out on the land and with the men, he had a number of stories to tell about them and they were an important part in his life here. The Arriero was a position with more responsibility, therefore the wines under this line are more settled, aged in oak a little longer and more mature.

The last line is called Mayoral. The Mayoral was the major domo of the property, the estanciero or landowners right hand man. This was a man in a position of authority, very well respected, and powerful. Therefore the wines under this line are the higher end wines, more mature, aged in oak for a longer period of time, and have more presence and power.

And so, the Hacienda wines were created, carrying on the rich family history in the wines that they were now producing.

We then took a walk through the 72 year old vineyard, with Pablo excitedly explaining the care and love that went into tending the vines. It was clear to see not only through his animated discussion, but just by looking at the vines themselves that they were well cared for. These were some happy looking vines as far as I was concerned.

The tour finished in the winery, with a barrel tasting of some of the best malbec I have ever tasted. The family uses very traditional and simple approaches to their winemaking, however the end result was spectacular. A euphoric finish to an already unique visit.

One of the things that greatly impresses me about this family, and one of the things that came out over and over again in Carlos’s journal is the great respect and love of the land that they have. And you can see this come out in the way they manage the vineyard, the way they make their wine and in their own way of being. A good example of this is again, with Pablo’s father. Just before he passed away he asked to be cremated as opposed to buried. This is very uncommon in Argentina as most people are buried. However, because Carlos had spent so much time out on the land and in the mountains, he wanted to be laid to rest there. So upon his passing, the family took a trip to the mountains and scattered his ashes in the place that he loved so much.

The family, both in times past and times present exude a rich warmth and hospitality. Their history and family traditions reflect this, and can be traced all the way back to when they would open their doors to the muleteers that were crossing the Andes and house them during their long trek across the mountains.

To me Hacienda del Plata is like a space where time has stood still. The minute you walk through the gate you are enveloped in the tranquility and peacefulness of a time now passed. You find yourself in a natural oasis created by Mother Nature and tended to with love by those who understand the rhythms and cycles of the earth. And that is hard to come by in this day and age. And even after you leave, you still feel the lingering beauty of the place hovering around, a constant reminder that there is still natural beauty and family love in this world.

(www.haciendadelplata.com.ar)