Uco Valley
Cool-nighted high-altitude desert
A high valley in the shadow of the Andes, south-west of Mendoza, whose cool nights and stony soils give vivid, fresh Malbec and Chardonnay.
Overview
About Uco Valley
The Uco Valley lies about 80 kilometres south-west of Mendoza city, in the departments of Tupungato, Tunuyán and San Carlos. Its vineyards sit among the highest in Argentina, from around 900 to over 1,500 metres, and the altitude brings cool nights and intense light, so grapes ripen slowly and keep their acidity. The results, in the best cases, are fresher, more floral and more mineral than Malbec from the lower ground of Luján de Cuyo.
The valley has been at the centre of Argentina's move to more precise, site-specific wines. Districts such as Gualtallary, Altamira and La Consulta are increasingly named on labels, and the area produces some of the country's best Chardonnay as well as Malbec and Cabernet Franc.
Uco Valley is marked on the map.
Argentina
Shaded: Mendoza. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Cool-nighted high-altitude desert
Sunny, dry and high, with intense ultraviolet light and very cool nights. Snow on the Andes feeds the rivers used for irrigation, and hail and spring frost are constant risks.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Alluvial fans of stones and sand, with a layer of limestone (calcium carbonate) in Gualtallary and deep, rocky soils in Altamira. The stony ground drains freely and holds yields down.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
The Uco Valley is a geographical indication, and the best-known wines now name a district, such as Gualtallary or Altamira, on the label.
Named districts (Gualtallary, Altamira, La Consulta)
Officially recognised sub-zones, each with its own soil and altitude, that increasingly appear on labels.
Valle de Uco
The wider geographical indication covering the valley as a whole.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.