Most Merlot is designed to be smooth, easy, and forgettable. This one comes from the edge of the growing world.

The Otronia 45 Rugientes is produced in Sarmiento, Chubut, at 45°33' south latitude — the southernmost winery in Argentina, in a cold Patagonian desert nearly 1,900 kilometers from Mendoza. The name says it all: "45 Rugientes" is Spanish for the Roaring Forties, a reference to the relentless winds that define this latitude and the extreme conditions that shape these wines.

The project was built from nothing. In 2010, owner Alejandro Bulgueroni and world-renowned Italian consultant Alberto Antonini began planting 50 hectares of organic vineyard on the eastern shore of Lake Musters — a cold, dry, wind-blasted site where growing grapes seemed improbable.

Soils here are a mosaic of alluvial rock, calcareous material from the nearby Sierra Silva, and clay deposits of ancient lagoon origin. Certified organic under Argencert from the start. Vegan. No shortcuts. The winemaker is Juan Pablo Murgia, named Tim Atkin MW's Young Winemaker of the Year in 2021.

The 2019 is the inaugural release of the 45 Rugientes Merlot — ten years after the first vines went in the ground. A single block of one hectare, 7,000 plants per hectare, harvested April 1st.

Fermented spontaneously in concrete tanks with a 17-day maceration, then aged 20 months in untoasted French oak foudres. Tim Atkin scored it 95 points and named it the Best Merlot in Argentina. Descorchados agreed with 93 points and the same distinction. This is what extreme climate and obsessive restraint can produce.