Marcelo Pelleriti: Revaluing his native terroir

Wines of Argentina producers

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We often walk through life seeking external approval. But a time comes when we realize that our greatest worth is inside us. This led Marcelo Pelleriti to start up his personal project...

Marcelo Pelleriti: Revaluing his native terroir

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A world-renowned winemaker, Marcelo Pelleriti has done vintages for the Péré-Vergé family, who own vineyards and châteaux in France —Château Montviel, Château La Gravière, Château Le Gay and Château La Violette in Pomerol— and Argentina —Monteviejo in Mendoza—, since 2001.

Marcelo Pelleriti

His life is a tale of two countries, as he splits his time in France and Argentina, trying to achieve winemaking excellence in both. His efforts have been rewarded, and rightfully so. He has fulfilled dreams many a winemaker pursues, such as achieving a 100-point rating by Parker. Yet, his passion for wines is a relentless pursuit that led him to embark on his own personal project, Marcelo Pelleriti Wines, in 2007. In this project, Marcelo set out to revalue the terroirs that marked the beginning of his career.

Today, Marcelo remembers childhood days on a farm where he and his grandfather would tread grapes to make homemade wine. He has come a long way since then, yet he has never forgotten the farms that gave birth to his dream of making wine. So after becoming an acclaimed winemaker, he decided to return to his origin: the place where he made his first wine back in 1994, a 110-year-old farm he owns in La Consulta, Valle de Uco, in the province of Mendoza (Argentina), and express the value of that terroir.

Such was the beginning of Marcelo Pelleriti Reserve – now coming out in its newly enhanced version as Marcelo Pelleriti Signature – the first wine of his personal line, a wine that embodies his life story and is the true and pure expression of the terroir that made an indelible impression on him.

This Argentina Malbec was born in Valle de Uco, where the alluvional soils and irrigation with pure meltwater impart a very characteristic minerality and finesse. There, in the foothills of the Andes mountains, 1,000 meters above sea level, sunny days and cool nights lend thermal amplitude which, together with plentiful sunlight, translates into the intense and bright red color that characterizes this wine.

In this climate, clusters ripen slowly, thus preserving the plum and berry aromas that make this wine fresh and lively, and yet complex and elegant, with great ageing potential.

Eventually, Marcelo complemented his line with two blends, Pelleriti Selection and Marcelo Pelleriti Grand Cuvee, both of which are captivating expressions of the many nuances of the same terroir.

When it comes to passion and dedication, we can say that Marcelo Pelleriti Wines express both. In life we can reach the summit to take a break and relax, or make new decisions as he did, in a tireless pursuit of self-improvement.

The expression of a terroir in a glass of wine is a language he will never cease to explore and communicate. Like music, these are the worlds he belongs in, and to which he has offered his unyielding dedication.