Finca Decero is the brainchild of Swiss-born Thomas Schmidheiny. “Decero” means “from scratch”, and this is exactly how Schmidheiny in the year 2000 founded his wine estate, the Remolinos Vineyard in the small wine-producing region of Agrelo in Mendoza. He meticulously analysed the climate and the terroir, selecting clones that perfectly matched the environment of each specific plot. Decero released their first wine in 2006, and this instantly won an award and made the world sit up and take notice of this new estate. From its inception Decero have taken an “a mano” or “by hand” approach to everything they do, nurturing with meticulous attention to detail without compromise, to allow the qualities of the environment to shine through their wines. “Remolino” means “whirlwind” in Spanish, and the vineyard was named for the little whirlwinds that weave their way through the vines, keeping the grapes dry and in optimum condition. This also gave rise to the name and the beautiful labels on their The Owl & The Dust Devil wine range: a parliament of Lechuza owls have made their home on the vineyard, and can often be seen perched atop vineyard posts. When the whirlwinds arise and the owls catch sight of the swirling dust, they take flight and give chase, returning to their posts when the dust devils have disappeared into thin air. The 110 hectare single vineyard is under vine to Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Tannat, planted at 1,050 metres above sea level, on a unique tapestry of soils, unmatched in the surrounding area. In 2015 Decero measured the electro-conductivity of of the entire vineyard and developed a precise map of micro-differences within the soil, assessing these differences and how they affected each individual vine. There are basically two different soil compositions, alluvial and colluvial, and throughout the vineyard there are also very high levels of calcium carbonate dissolved in the silt deposits interwoven in the soil types, and it is this that gives the Decero wines their renowned hallmark silky palate. Specific parcels of fruit are selected, all hand-picked and micro-vinified; individually fermented and matured and kept separate until it is decided what contribution they will make to their portfolio of certified vegan wines. Decero have continued to garner awards and are recognised as one of Argentina's elite estates.