HD Malbec Patagonia (2024)

About this wine

This Malbec opens with ripe plum and cherry aromas, then moves into violet, gentle herbal notes and a light mocha and licorice edge. The palate is medium to full in weight, juicy at the center, and framed by firm, round tannins that stay fine and smooth. The finish leans fresh rather than heavy, with a subtle stony, mineral feel and a touch of spice. In the HD range, Durigutti emphasizes pure fruit expression with a short, youthful élevage in cement eggs, a choice that keeps the wine bright and focused. Producer notes for HD Malbec point to stony soils and a floral, purple fruited profile, and the HD range is associated with old, high altitude vineyards in Altamira in the Uco Valley. The wine is made by Héctor Durigutti, part of the Durigutti Family Winemakers team.

About the grape

This bottling is made entirely from Malbec, a French grape best known historically as Côt in Cahors, where it kept a strong foothold even after much of Bordeaux replanted following severe frosts in the mid twentieth century. Malbec arrived in Argentina in 1868 through the work of French agronomist Michel Pouget, and it became the country’s signature red variety because it adapted well to intense sun and arid growing conditions. In Patagonia, Malbec is typically grown in the Río Negro and Neuquén river valleys, where low rainfall and persistent winds limit disease pressure and irrigation from snowmelt fed rivers is essential for consistent vine growth. Labeled as Patagonia in Argentina, this wine uses that southern, cool climate Malbec tradition to present the grape in a single varietal form rather than as a blending component.

Quick facts

• 🪨 Despite being sold in some markets as “Patagonia,” Durigutti’s HD Malbec is sourced from Paraje Altamira in the high Uco Valley, a terroir famous for very stony soils.
• 🥚 This Malbec is “young aged” in concrete eggs, an uncommon vessel choice that keeps the fruit vivid while letting the wine breathe without adding oak flavor.
• ⛰️ The HD line is built around old single vineyards tended by small growers at over 1150 meters above sea level, a high altitude that helps keep the style fresh and mineral.
• 🧭 Héctor Durigutti is the named winemaker behind HD Malbec, and he began hunting and mapping Altamira sites for this project back in 2008, before the region’s big global boom.
• 🗓️ The 2024 vintage received an expert score of 91 points from James Suckling, with a “drink now or try in 2026” note, a rare specific window callout for an everyday Malbec.

Palate profile

Producer

Durigutti Family Winemakers is a Mendoza project founded in 2002 by brothers and winemakers Héctor and Pablo Durigutti. The winery is based in Las Compuertas, Luján de Cuyo, a historic area known for old vineyards, and the team is especially focused on studying soils to express terroir. In 2007 they began building their Las Compuertas estate by purchasing an old Malbec vineyard and later expanded the holdings, naming the site Finca Victoria in honor of their mother. Their first winery facility at Finca Victoria was inaugurated on March 4, 2021, strengthening their estate based winemaking. Today the property also welcomes visitors for tastings, hospitality, and food experiences alongside the vineyards.