Michelini i Mufatto Balsa de Piedra Semillón 2021

Andrea Mufatto and Gerardo Michelini named this wine after Jose Saramago's novel The Stone Raft, and source the fruit from different sites in Tupungato, one of the highest and coolest parts of the Valle de Uco in Mendoza, Argentina. Altitude does the work here: intense mountain sunlight ripens the Semillon fully, while cold Andean nights hold on to acidity, giving a wine that is ripe yet fresh and firmly structured. The soils are alluvial, stony and poor, which restrains vigour and concentrates the fruit. The wine is made in a Burgundy style, fermented and aged in concrete rather than new oak, so the vessel adds a slow, gentle exchange of air and a broad texture while leaving the grape and site to speak. Time on the lees builds the waxy, mineral weight that suits Semillon. The colour is bright straw gold. The nose shows ripe peach, apricot and pear with a subtle honeyed sweetness and a beeswax note. The palate is textured and dry, the stone fruit carried by a clean line of acidity to a saline, savoury finish. Serve at 10 to 12 degrees. It suits roast chicken, richer fish and roasted vegetables.