Viñas del PerchelThe Project
We are a family-run winery at the heart of the historic Humahuaca Ravine, specifically in the small spot known as Villa El Perchel, situated in the area between Huacalera and Tilcara, in the Argentine province of Jujuy.
We started developing Viñas del Perchel in 2005, by pursuing a quite ambitious and clearly defined objective: making extreme wines at an extreme area. Thus, we pioneered the implantation of fine varieties to produce wines in the Ravine, over 2,625 meters above sea level, in a region with highly challenging natural conditions.
Every year, our hard work and dedication help us deeply interpret the terroir expression and make exceptional wines that are born in one of the country’s highest vineyards.
The People
The Viñas del Perchel project was created by Javier Vargas and his whole family, being currently run by himself and his sister Mabel, who lives in the vineyard, goes across the vineyard and carries it forward throughout the year. They both perfectly know each and every vineyard’s plant and stone.
As a family-owned business, we are particularly aware of the importance of working together. Thus, we work side by side with skilled locals and experts from different producing regions across the country (winemakers and agricultural engineers) who support our constant search aimed at achieving the highest terroir expression, our personal seal.
In 2014, we decided to go one step further in our adventure and contact winemaker and agricultural engineer Gabriela Celeste (working at the Eno-Rolland consultancy firm), for her to advise us on the high-end winemaking process. As a result, she helped us obtain the full potential of such a peculiar terroir and the wines made in our wine cellar.
a space for experimentation and freedomThe Winery
Our wine cellar can be found next to the vineyard, living in harmony with its natural environment. It is one of Argentina’s highest wine cellars located further north. This place is called “the lab”, as we test and learn everything new as years and harvests go by. Here, we produce wines that are specifically controlled from the vineyard and up to the bottling process, undergoing a 12 to 18-month ageing in French or American oak barrels.
The lab provides a space for free experimentation, where we just intervene to the minimum extent necessary in order to boost everything nature gives us.