When, in 1998, Roberto Luka planted the Finca Sophenia vineyard in Gualtallary, he was convinced its location could yield wines that would take the world’s most demanding palates by surprise. Almost twenty years after the launch of the first vintage produced at this family estate, Luka has been proven right.
The project, which he now runs with his daughter Eugenia, has won numerous awards and consistently been given high scores by critics and journalists the world over.
With winemaking overseen by young expert Joaquín Martin, Finca Sophenia offers a sophisticated range of wines while also investing in ongoing research and development programmes.
‘Our winery and vineyards are located in an excellent site for the production of high-end wines,’ says Martin. International experts agree that this small area on the Tupungato mountain, in southern Uco Valley, is one of the world’s best terroirs. ‘It’s a privilege to have been pioneers of a terroir that everyone is now talking about,’ Luka concludes.
Much more than a Best in Show
Although this isn’t the first time that a wine from Finca Sophenia performs well at the DWWA, the 2022 honour deserves to be examined in greater depth.
The Altosur Malbec 2021 ranked, out of 18,244 entries, among the 50 best wines of the year with a 97-point score.
This meant that, in addition to the Platinum Medal, it was also named Best in Show in the Value category, as one of only ten wines in the Top 50 sold for £15 or less.
‘We believe that the basis of a wine’s quality is its origin, and we enhance the underlying potential of our terroir through sustainable, organic practices,’ says Eugenia Luka, Director of Communications, Sustainability and Biology at Finca Sophenia.
‘This new honour from Decanter is extremely important not just to our winery but also to Argentina, and to Gualtallary as a micro-region. We’re showing the world that our country can make extraordinary wines in every market segment.’
Previous distinctions won by Finca Sophenia at the DWWA include a Platinum Medal (97 pts) for Synthesis The Blend 2018 and a Gold Medal (95 pts) for the 2019 Finca Sophenia Estate Reserva Malbec, both in the awards’s 2021 edition. At the 2018 DWWA, the Synthesis Malbec 2015 had also won a Platinum Medal (97 pts).
