O. Fournier

Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina                                       Maule Valley, Chile

Lots of Joses here. The first Jose Manuel Ortega heads the family owned company of Fournier who set up in Mendoza in 2000. The second is the winemaker Jose Spisso, previously from Alta Vista. Together they are set on achieving mission of being one of the top wineries in Argentina. There is a brand new winery that includes the best of old and new technologies, stainless steel, oak vats, gravity feeds and an undergound cellar capable of holding 2,800 oak barrels. Bodegas Fournier own three vineyards and work with a number of local growers, buying grapes from low yielding old vines. Although Jose Ortega dismisses success in competitions with a shrug there is no doubt of the high esteem in which his wines are regarded worldwide. The real 'stars' here are A.Crux, Alfa Crux and B. Crux the two main stars in the Southern Cross constellation. The strange bird on the label is of course, a Road Runner - beep,beep.

Wine Spectator November 2006 - 2002 A Crux 93pts, 2003 Alfa Crux 92 pts.
Wine Spectator 2006 - Top 100 wines in the World.
Decanter Magazine 2006 - 2002 A. Crux "Best New World Red Wine"
Tom Stevenson Wine Report 2007 - 3rd Greatest Winery in Argentina, 3rd Most Improved Winery in Argentina, 2003 Alfa Crux One of the Top 100 Wines of the World, 2004 A.Crux Malbec 3rd Greatest Quality Wine in Argentinia
Decanter Magazine 2007 - Voted Argentinian Icon Winery of Tomorrow.   
Decanter World Wine Awards and IWC 2007 - 2002 Alfa Crux Silver, 2004 Alfa Crux Malbec Silver 

But that's not all, look out  Chile!   Another brand new state-of-the-art winery in the Maule Valley being built into the ruins of a 19th century winery. A huge attraction here is the inclusion of 80 year old Carignan vines, the wine from which is currently used in the Urban  blend.                          

And that's still not all. Yet another winery is under construction at Leyda in the San Antonio valley. The proximity to the cool Pacific breezes will provide ideal conditions for white wine production although at the moment more red seems to  be made. However the 2007 Centauri Sauvignon Blanc is absolutely, zingingly delicious, boding well for the future.

And unbelievably there's more, Ribera O. Fournier is the third estate in Jose Manuel Ortega's winery empire which stretches from Chile to Argentina and now includes Spain. Both Jancis Robinson and Steven Spurrier have highlighted Jose as a world class producer in all three countries.

www.ofournier.com

- In the “Oz Clark Wine Guide”, O. Fournier was selected as one of the top 12 “Producers to Watch”, while both Uco Valley in Mendoza and San Antonio Valley in Chile were selected among the top 12 “Regions to Watch”

The “Tom Stevenson´s Wine Report”, selected with mentions in the three countries: Chile, Argentina and Spain, O. Fournier was selected in the top 10  “Greatest Quality Wines”, and both in Chile and Spain in the top 10 “New Up-and-Coming Producers”.  In Argentina, O. Fournier is also mentioned as one of the five “Greatest Wine Producers” and our Urban Tempranillo 2007 as one of the “Most Exciting and Unsual Wines”

 In Ana Barahona´s “La Mujer y el Vino” Guide,  Centauri Sauvignon Blanc  2008, was selected “Best Chilean White Wine” for the second year running.  In the red category, Centauri Blend 2007, received ”Best Red Wine under USD 40” and seventh best in Chile. In the “Descorchados” guide, Centauri Sauvignon Blanc 2008 was selected among the top 10 in the category, while Centauri Blend 2007 was also selected among the top seven Blends in the country.