Magna Montis was the first Argentinian producer to seriously draw Ronnie’s attention. These wines, made by Martin Dicuzzo, are so unlike the cliché of this country’s rich, syrupy wines that have bombarded the US market for some time now. Instead, Martin is doing things with a more measured hand to showcase high altitude freshness and elegance. Magna Montis means “big mountain” in Latin and refers to The Andes, the largest continental range in the world. Against a towering, mountainous backdrop that looks like a Windows screen saver from the early 2000s, the grapes for this project are grown at 3300-5500 feet above sea level in the Uco Valley, about 40 miles southwest as the crow flies from the city of Mendoza. That’s easily the highest elevation of any producer in our book. With that elevation comes high sun exposure during the days, dry winds, and cool nights. In addition, the Andes create a rain shadow effect over Martin’s vineyards; they only receive 12 inches of rain per year. It is this rugged terrain that drew Martin back after many years away.

Martin started his wine career in 2012, studying to be a sommelier and founding Gea Vinos, a wine importer and distribution company in Argentina, at the same time. In 2016 he decided to settle in Shanghai and lived there for four years, working as an Asian Export Manager for Bodega Norton, one of the most prestigious wineries and 5th largest exporter in Argentina. For Bodega Norton, Martin developed more than fifteen markets all around the Asian continent, and based on that experience, he is a strong believer that Argentina has begun to make world class wines in the last decade.