Summary
Finca Las Moras is one of the best-known wineries in the Argentine province of San Juan – the country's second-largest wine region after Mendoza, and one that long stood in its neighbour's shadow. Since its founding in 1993, the estate has done much to make San Juan stand for one thing above all: Syrah. Across around 1,100 hectares of its own vineyards in the Tulum, Zonda and Pedernal valleys it produces the full spectrum – from straightforward everyday wines to ambitious blends from the high-altitude Pedernal valley at roughly 1,350 metres. Behind the estate stands Grupo Peñaflor, Argentina's largest wine group.
History
Winegrowing has a long tradition in San Juan, but for decades it was mostly about volume: the province supplied bulk wine, table grapes and concentrated grape must. The turning point came in the early nineties, when Argentina shifted broadly towards quality.
In 1993 the estate's vineyards were fundamentally restructured – with expert guidance from the Australian viticultural scientist Richard Smart, regarded as one of the most influential advisers on canopy management. Finca Las Moras emerged from that realignment. The name refers to the mulberry trees ('moras' in Spanish) that traditionally line the vineyards of the area and serve as windbreaks.
The estate belongs to Grupo Peñaflor, founded in 1904 by a family of Italian immigrants, which made the leap from bulk wine to fine wine in the 1990s. The group includes several other well-known Argentine houses. Since around 2004 Eduardo Casademont has been responsible for the wines of Finca Las Moras; he is seen as the driving force behind the move into the higher sites of Pedernal.
Location & Terroir
San Juan lies in western Argentina at the foot of the Andes, around 150 kilometres north of Mendoza. The climate is decidedly hot, dry and sunny – rainfall is scarce, and irrigation comes from mountain meltwater. What makes San Juan special is not a single terroir, but the enormous range of altitudes within a small area.
Finca Las Moras works with three valleys:
- Valle de Tulum at around 650 metres – the classic, warm heart of San Juan viticulture, giving ripe, soft and generous wines.
- Valle de Zonda at roughly 950 metres – a narrow valley with limestone-rich soils, somewhat cooler and tauter in expression.
- Valle de Pedernal at about 1,350 metres – a remote high valley some 90 to 100 kilometres south of the provincial capital, close to the Mendoza border.
Pedernal is the real quality engine. The soils are stony and calcareous, the nights cool, and day-night temperature differences reach up to 20 degrees. The result: grapes with ripe tannins but retained acidity and pronounced spice. Since 2007 Valle de Pedernal has been recognised as its own Indicación Geográfica (I.G.) – one of the first steps by which San Juan positioned itself as an origin for top-quality wine.
Style & Philosophy
The house style is unmistakable: ripe fruit, warm spice, soft texture. The wines are accessible and straightforwardly built, without aggressive tannins or sharp edges. That is precisely the San Juan signature – warmer and rounder than the cooler, tauter Mendoza.
Syrah sits at the centre. Here it shows black fruit, black pepper and often a fine smoky, liquorice-like note; from the higher sites comes a distinct floral and spicy freshness. Malbec turns out fuller and plummier in San Juan than in Mendoza, while Bonarda delivers juicy, uncomplicated wines with dark fruit. Among the whites the estate favours fresh, aromatic styles – Viognier, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc among them.
In the cellar the range runs from reductive stainless-steel handling for the entry wines to long barrel ageing for the top lines. The portfolio is deliberately broad: Finca Las Moras sees itself as a house that opens the door to Argentine wine at every price level.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range is clearly tiered – from the entry line to the wines from Pedernal:
- Gran Syrah – the estate's Syrah calling card, with grapes from the higher sites
- Mora Negra – the prestige blend of Malbec and Bonarda, named after the black mulberry
- Sagrado Pedernal – wines sourced consistently from the high-altitude Pedernal valley
- Los Intocables and Paz – expressive lines in the mid to upper segment
- Barrel Select and the classic Finca Las Moras line – the widely available entry point
- Dadá and Alma Mora – accessible, modern brands from the estate's orbit
Anyone wanting to get to know the style is best served by starting with the Syrah: it shows most clearly what sets San Juan apart from Mendoza.
Awards
Finca Las Moras is among the most internationally visible houses in San Juan and is listed in numerous markets worldwide. The top wines – Gran Syrah and Mora Negra above all – regularly achieve ratings in the region of 90 to 93 points with international critics and at tastings.
At least as important is the estate's role for the region: the push into Pedernal has contributed significantly to San Juan being seen today not merely as a bulk supplier, but as an origin in its own right for ambitious red wines. For newcomers to Argentina, Finca Las Moras is therefore a good way to broaden the view beyond Mendoza Malbec.