Domaine Nico 2022 Pinot Noir "Grand Mere" Mendoza, Argentina

The Domaine Nico 2022 “Grand Mère” Pinot Noir feels like a breath of mountain air rising through dusty valleys—a whisper of wild raspberry and olive spilling forward, lifted by orange rind and tobacco bark that don’t shout, they invite. The scent isn’t constructed; it’s aired out by elevation.

Sip and it gains shape. The palate is mid-weight, buoyant but grounded. Fruit opens first, then tension grabs hold—rock salt, iron underbrush, seedy tannins drawn clean. There’s grip, but not austerity—velvety, still insistently upright.

That structure is written by soil and sky. Grand Mère comes from old vines planted at around 1,120 meters (3,675 feet) in Villa Bastías, Tupungato—among the highest Pinot in the world. The ground is gravel over limestone, forcing the fruit into focus. Nights drop cold, days ripen slow—especially in Mendoza, where altitude changes the whole tone of Pinot. 

Laura Catena named it in tribute to her grandmother—grounded elegance, familial clarity. Winemaker Roy Urvieta follows suit, with minimal intervention: gentle fermentation, subtle oak (around 10% new), leaving the vineyards to articulate themselves. 

2022 rings in as generous without flash. A dry vintage, yes, but one with gentle warmth and cool nights—fruit gained ripeness in balance, not rush. The wine doesn’t race; it unfolds. 

This is the Pinot you open when stories meander and time drifts—beside mushroom ragout, duck breast, or nothing but doubtless space. It lingers because it listens.

Domaine Nico 2022 “Grand Mère” Pinot Noir—altitude in fruit, history in every swirl, elegance that stays.