Unlocking the terroir of the upper Mendoza River's "Wild West"
Viña Cobos represents Paul Hobbs' 25 years of devotion to capturing the nobility and sense of place possible in pure Malbec
The original text of my article on the vineyard-designate Viña Cobos Malbecs of Mendoza, grown and crafted by Paul Hobbs, published in the February/March 2026 issue of The SOMM Journal.
Viña Cobos breaks ground in the west of Mendoza
The January 2026 release of three vineyard-designate 2022 Malbecs by Viña Cobos—the Argentine estate founded by winemaker Paul Hobbs in 1998—marks the culmination of 25 years of diligent, laser focus on the phenomenal individual terroirs of the country’s renowned Mendoza Province.
“Argentina,” Mr. Hobbs says matter-of-factly, “is my home.” This, from a winemaker who operates no less than seven wineries on four continents; in regions including Sebastopol, Finger Lakes, Cahors, Armenia and Galicia. Despite his wide ranging interests, Argentina is ingrained in Hobbs’ heart for reasons that are both emotional and intellectual.
It is the country’s long established wine culture—dating back to the late 1500s upon the arrival of Spanish missionaries, and the mid-1800s when French grapes such as Malbec were introduced—that has made Hobbs feel perfectly at home. His Viña Cobos project is driven primarily by bottlings of Malbec from three distinctive vineyards controlled by Hobbs. A summation:
Chañares Estate Vineyard—17 hectares (42 acres); the highest elevation site in the Viña Cobos portfolio (1,184 meters/3,885 feet) located in Valle de Uco, in closest proximity to the Andes Mountains.
Zingaretti Estate Vineyard—Also located in Valle de Uco; consisting primarily of own-rooted, century-old vines (first planted in 1914); 1,150-meter/3,773-feet elevation; 17 hectares (42 acres).
Hobbs Estate Vineyard—Located in Luján de Cuyo; acquired by Hobbs in 2005, replanted between 2006 and 2014; 13.7 hectares (2.5 acres); 995-meter elevation (3,624 feet).
While Malbec is Argentina’s signature grape, what distinguishes Hobbs’ Viña Cobos label is 1) the winemaker’s instinct towards restrained, low intervention farming and winemaking, and 2) Hobbs’ obsession with terroir as the primary sensory priority.
Says Hobbs, “Viña Cabos started in 1998 as a simple proposition—a study of the nobility of Malbec. At the time, though, we weren’t that knowledgeable about the grape, and most of the growers were reluctant to think along the same ideological lines. You could say the upper Mendoza River zone was something of a Wild West.
“Also, when I started, most of the Mendoza wine industry was concentrated on the eastern side of the province. I was drawn to the west, the vineyards closest to the Andes. While Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon were the primary objectives, our real model was Burgundian. The vineyard became the message, translated through the wines. That is why we began listing vineyards prominently on the label, playing up the importance and relevance of source as a brand in itself.”
High elevation viticulture specific to the Andes
While phenomenal altitude is what distinguishes Mendoza, according to Hobbs: “High elevation in itself is not the important factor. High elevation does create cooler temperature zones, but more important is solar radiation”—the latter, in reference to the quality of sunlight having a direct impact on grape growing, from enhanced photosynthesis to elevated polyphenolic content in grape skins.
Adds Hobbs: “The Andes is a young mountain range, geologically speaking, and the climate is quite dry—a semi-desert requiring irrigation, especially in soils with low water holding capacity, forcing roots to go deep in search of water. Proximity to the Andes means deep wells of cold water aquifers—pure, snow-melt waters, 40° to 50° F. in temperature, holding more oxygen and active microbiomes beneficial to farming.
“The natural environment is low vegetation, mostly scrub, certainly not good for row crop agriculture. Well drained rocky soils go hand in hand with soil composition specific to the Andes. The predominant soils consist of granitic rock and limestone; major factors you don’t find in lower elevation wine regions. All these factors account for wines of significant mineral profile.”
While downplaying elevation, Hobbs does cite the differences among the three vineyards of Viña Cobos: “At 1,000 meters, Hobbs Vineyard is the warmest site. At about 1,150 meters, Zingaretti is the coolest climate site of the three estates. Although Chañares is at the highest elevation, closer to 2,000 meters, it also the most intense in solar radiation. Being closest to the Andes, there are soil differences—grapes in Chañares are able respond to heat reflecting off the almost pure rock and cobble of the site, resulting in the earliest ripening among the three vineyards.”
Vineyards translated in the glass
Even in their youth, the 2022 Viña Cobos Malbecs already relay messages from their respective vineyards. While dense and meaty, the 2022 Viña Cobos Hobbs Estate Agrelo Malbec is already showing the red berryish fruit—unimpeded by any excess of oak (vanilla, chocolate, smoke, spice, et al.) typical of many Argentine varietals—and plush, almost unctuous mouthfeel of its site, while compact and mineral at the core.
Hobbs offers this insight: “While Hobbs was my site for Cabernet Sauvignon, structurally and texturally this Malbec reflects a warmer site. Of the three vineyards, it is furthest from mountains, which explains its soil of light clay, silt and sand. Below the 12 to 18 inches of topsoil, you get to pebbles and cobble. While the fruit tone is generous, the tannin is sturdy enough to give a feel of gentle tension. When we acquired the site in 2005 it was a run-down old vineyard. Replanting took place in two phases, beginning in 2006 and 2007, with a new section added in 2014.”
On perhaps a proverbial opposite end of the scale, the 2022 Viña Cobos Chañares Estate Los Arboles Malbec is a visibly darker purplish ruby color than the Hobbs. Also different is the floral-violet scent floating above a deep, dark berry concentration of fruit and more of a pronounced acid driven medium-full body buoyed by sculpted tannin and a long, earthy, scrubby, minerally, almost “European” profile (although nowhere in Europe do you find a Malbec-based red like this).
Explains Hobbs: “Chañares is one of the westernmost sites in Mendoza, located deep in the Andes, marked by a unique terroir of white rock and limestone. Originally established in 2008, it started as an unusual concept, laid out in a circular pattern, with four steel frame wired pyramids placed around an inner circle, representing a celestial energy. To one side, left untouched, is a large grove of native chañar trees and cactus. The vineyard is farmed untilled—there is barely any sandy loam topsoil—with wild herbs such as thyme growing among native grass.”
Consequently, adds Hobbs, “Chañares produces high phenolic, concentrated wine—a high tension, high mineral Malbec, yet bright, lifted, lots of power, a profile all its own. The key is gentle handling, not over-extraction. If Malbecs were ballet dancers, Chañares would be Baryshnikov.”
Remarks Hobbs: “Zingaretti is more feminine compared to Chañares, yet combines power with elegance, its colder climate conducive to strong, floral components. Zingaretti is distinguished by its sandy alluvial soil with little organic material, transitioning to rockier layers consisting of pebbles and cobbles, more like boulders down further, with almost no clay.
“The vineyard’s granitic rock is covered with a thin film of limestone, which increases the feel of grippiness and mineral structure; almost like a French style of wine, except you are working with mountain fruit which gives a bright, precise, high tension structure. The old vines have been growing on their own roots since 1914. We do till the soil, but are transitioning to no-till.”
The 2022 Viña Cobos Zingaretti Estate Villa Bastías Malbec, made from considerably older vines, is the most structured Malbec in the Viña Cobos line; its deep, concentrated dark berry profile tinged with floral and almost blueberry notes, couched in a scrubby, muscular yet svelte presence on the palate, electrified by lively, pervasive acidity.
When asked why he considers Argentina his home, Hobbs tells the story of his first visit to the country, in 1988. Recalls Hobbs: “I grew up in New York state in the 1950s and ‘60s, and when I first landed in Argentina I saw everyone still driving cars from my childhood. No one was wearing seat belts in their old Ford Fairlanes and Skyliners.
“What I found was a wine culture tightly bound by close-knit families who shared everything, all their meals, and a bright outlook on life no matter what the challenges. When it came time to leave, Nicolàs Catena drove me to the airport, and he and five other people walked me all the way up to the door of the plane, where we shared a group hug. I boarded a jet which still had bench seats. Where else do you still find any of that?”
Where else do you find wines that go far beyond any varietal definition of “Malbec”—but instead, are redefining Mendoza in Argentina as a source of highly distinctive, world class vineyards?
