A desert that only irrigation turns into a vineyard
The Upper Río Negro Valley is the historic core of Patagonian wine: British colonists dug the first irrigation canals from the Negro and Neuquén rivers as early as 1820, and without that irrigation, the vine simply cannot survive in this steppe desert. It's a low-altitude area by Argentine standards — barely 250 meters above sea level — but the cold climate and wide thermal range make up for that low altitude, giving a much fresher profile than any other estate in LagarLab's catalog.
The soil is alluvial, with a significant limestone component and good drainage. Harvest arrives between late February and April, and training is on espalier. Just two decades ago, a small group of European investors — including Hans Vinding-Diers and Piero Incisa della Rocchetta — redirected the region's focus toward cool-climate varietals, especially Pinot Noir.
The result is a Pinot Noir of fresh strawberry and cherry, light body, and low tannin — the polar opposite, within the catalog, of the tannic structure of estates like Luján de Cuyo or Bordeaux.
Wineries that define the Upper Río Negro Valley
Humberto Canale
Founded in 1909 in General Roca, it's the oldest winery in the Upper Valley. A historic reference point for the region, known for old-vine Semillón and Malbec.
Bodega Chacra
Founded in 2004 by Piero Incisa della Rocchetta, on an abandoned vineyard planted in 1932. A Pinot Noir specialist producing highly expressive wines from those century-old vines.
Noemía de Patagonia
Founded in 2001 by Countess Noemí Marone Cinzano and Danish winemaker Hans Vinding-Diers, centered on a 1932 Malbec vineyard never treated with synthetic inputs. One of the projects that put Patagonian wine on the international map.
Why Pinot Noir chose Patagonia: the wide thermal range, strong winds, and meltwater available for irrigation make this one of the few places in the Southern Hemisphere where Pinot Noir — a notoriously difficult variety — finds conditions close to those of Burgundy, its region of origin.
How this plays out in LagarLab
Río Negro · Pinot Noir is available on LagarLab Plus (not on the free plan). When you pick this estate, Patagonia's cold steppe climate and calcareous alluvial soil are already loaded into the starting Brix, TA and pH values of your Pinot Noir must — the real foundation behind the lightest, freshest profile in the entire catalog.
What if you made wine from this terroir yourself?
In LagarLab you pick Río Negro as your estate and make the same decisions a real winemaker would on that soil, with that Pinot Noir.
Enter the laboratoryFrequently Asked Questions
Why does Patagonian wine country need irrigation?
Because the Upper Río Negro Valley is, in essence, a steppe desert. Without the irrigation canals dug by British colonists starting in 1820, the vine could not survive there.
Why is this estate's Pinot Noir so different from the rest of the catalog?
Because of Patagonia's cold steppe climate: it gives fresh strawberry and cherry, light body, and low tannin — the polar opposite of warm-climate, stony-soil estates like Luján de Cuyo or Cafayate.
Is Patagonia on LagarLab's free plan?
No — it's available on LagarLab Plus. The two free-plan estates are Agrelo and Chablis.
What's the altitude of the Upper Río Negro Valley?
Only about 250 meters above sea level — low by Argentine standards. What compensates for that low altitude is the cold climate and wide thermal range typical of Patagonian latitudes.
Who drove quality Pinot Noir in the region?
A group of European investors who arrived about two decades ago, including Danish winemaker Hans Vinding-Diers and Italian Piero Incisa della Rocchetta, specializing in cool-climate varietals.