El Porvenir de Cafayate Laborum Single Vineyard Torrontés 2023 Cafayate, Salta, Argentina 75cl

El Porvenir de Cafayate is a family winery in Salta, in Argentina’s far north, run by the Romero family since 2000 with consultancy from the acclaimed Paul Hobbs. Quality here starts in the vineyard, with meticulous hand work from planting through to a gentle, gravity-fed cellar.

This is a pure Torrontés, Argentina’s signature aromatic white, from a single estate vineyard in the Cafayate Valley. Being a single-vineyard bottling matters: it gives the wine a clear sense of place rather than blending many sites together. The Laborum label is the estate’s expression of what one plot can do.

Cafayate’s vineyards sit at extraordinary altitude, around 1,700 metres, where intense mountain sunshine is offset by cold nights. That daily swing is what keeps this 2023 so fresh, locking in aromatics and acidity that many warmer-grown Torrontés lack, and giving a wine that is far more balanced than the variety’s reputation suggests.

The nose is classic and lifted, all white blossom, orange peel and lemon zest. The palate follows with citrus and stone fruit, an underlying salinity and a firm line of acidity that keeps everything balanced and dry. Serve it well chilled, at around eight degrees, with ceviche, grilled fish, fresh goat’s cheese, Thai-spiced dishes or simply on its own as an aperitif.

Torrontés is one of the most rewarding whites to explore, and this is a benchmark example from its spiritual home. If you like aromatic whites such as dry Muscat or Gewürztraminer but want more freshness and cut, this high-altitude Salta white is a natural next step.