Carmelita, 20 years in the making
Next year marks two decades since our Carmelita dream began and what an incredible journey it has been!
Back in 2007, we had the idea of making our own range of boutique wines, as good as any we had tasted and building a permanent connection with Argentina – a country of colour, possibility and opportunity. We had no idea if it would be possible or what the future would hold, but we were young and bold enough to give it a go!
We bought land in 2008, built a brilliant team around us and planted a few acres of Malbec and Cabernet Franc.
Our first fruit was harvested in 2010. The vines were young and the vintage was tiny. Carmelita Malbec 2010 was just 300 bottles but the quality was outstanding. That vintage arrived in the UK at the start of 2012 and won us our first medal; a Bronze at the International Wine & Spirit Competition.
Success of our early vintages allowed us to buy more land in 2013. We planted additional Malbec and in an exciting development added Cabernet Franc to our commercial offering.
Our big bodied signature Malbec was hitting the spot for many but we identified a place for a lighter, ‘easy to drink’ Malbec too. The new addition, Carmelita Vista Malbec, was launched in 2013 and was an instant success being listed at a number of top London wine bars as their house Malbec.
A host of medals were received by all of our wines in 2013, 2014 and 2015. The pinnacle of which was a Gold medal for our Carmelita Cabernet Franc 2012 from the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC). Our wines were up there with the very best in the world.
Another IWSC Gold followed in 2016, this time for Carmelita Malbec 2013, plus many more of the Silver and Bronze medals we were becoming used to receiving!
Wine shows and tastings kept us busy in the following years. We travelled with Olly Smith, Oz Clarke and Tim Atkin MW sharing our superstar reds with wine lovers in Manchester, London, Cardiff and Cambridge. We also spent time in Chester, Guildford, Bristol, Cheltenham and Oxford alongside hosting tastings for customers, friends and family closer to home.
2019 started with huge success. Gaucho restaurants loved our Carmelita Cabernet Franc 2014 and took the entire vintage to list in their fabulous restaurants across the country. But soon afterwards we had terrible news. Our warehouse in Argentina caught fire and all our stored stock was destroyed. The fire had started at a neighbouring property and the strong, local zonda winds had fanned the flames causing the spread to our facility. Luckily the vineyard itself was unaffected. Our travel was impacted by the pandemic but life at the vineyard continued.
We bounced back in 2022 with the launch of another exciting addition to our range. Carmelita Gran Corte 2019, an exquisite blend of Malbec and Cabernet Franc which continues to be a huge hit with customers.
4 wines … 12 vintages … 28 international awards … and we’re excited about all that’s yet to come.