Why it matters
The producer
Bodega Argento is based in Maipú, at the foothills of the Andes in Mendoza's Central Region. The company was established in 1998, and the wines have always centred on Malbec, the grape that anchors Argentine red wine production. What changed in 2012, when industrialist Alejandro Bulgheroni acquired the bodega, was the farming philosophy. Organic conversion became the organising principle across all five of the estate's vineyards, a shift that has made Argento one of the largest producers of certified-organic wine in Argentina. The range now carries organic, Fairtrade, and vegan certification across every bottle.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Maipú sits in the Central Region of Mendoza, where the Andes form a western wall that shapes everything about how the vines ripen. The foothills location gives the vineyards altitude, strong diurnal swings, and the dry air, making organic farming more practicable in Mendoza than in wetter climates: disease pressure is lower, and the grapes can ripen slowly without the chemical interventions that humid regions often require. Argento also farms in Alto Agrelo and Ugarteche in Luján de Cuyo, and in Altamira in the Uco Valley, spreading the estate across meaningfully different elevations and soil profiles within greater Mendoza.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The estate farms 485 hectares across five vineyard sites, with the organic conversion process underway across the full holding. All wines leaving the bodega carry certified organic, Fairtrade, and vegan status, independently audited by third-party bodies. Annual production reaches approximately 210,000 nine-litre cases of certified organic wine. In the cellar, the Estate Reserve Malbec receives gentle oak ageing, which integrates the fruit and adds a secondary layer to the palate without dominating the wine's character.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range is built around two organic Malbec tiers. The Estate Bottled Organic Malbec is the lighter and fresher of the two: mid-bodied, with round tannins and a fruit-forward character; it is the more immediate bottle. The Estate Reserve Organic Malbec sits above it in the range, with oak ageing adding weight and a secondary spice layer to the ripe dark fruit. Both wines carry the same certification stack but differ in how they handle oak and body. The separation between the two tiers is about texture and depth rather than grape or appellation.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
The Estate Bottled Organic Malbec is the place to begin. It is an uncluttered version of what Argento grows: Malbec from certified-organic estate vines, bottled without the oak overlay that defines the Reserve tier. The violet note on the nose is characteristic of Malbec grown at Mendoza's Andean elevations, and the velvety tannins and clean mid-body show the grape without the additional weight that oak ageing introduces. Once the baseline is understood, the Reserve's added depth reads as a deliberate addition rather than a different wine.