Two continents, two teams, one shared vision.
From Bordeaux to Mendoza, Bodegas CARO is the story of collaboration, respect and ambition. Football and winemaking collide as two great teams unite to create wines with a distinct Argentinian identity.
When Bordeaux meets Mendoza, the result is a two-headed wine, born from a shared instinct and mutual respect. In Mendoza, wine and football share the same stands: Godoy Cruz football club is named after a former winemaker, and its supporters are known as ‘bodegueros’. Two winemaking traditions, one grape from each continent, and a single ambition: to craft a wine with an Argentine identity, shaped by the combined expertise of two great houses.
It all began in the late 1990s. Nicolás Catena, a pioneer of high-altitude Malbec, was seeking an international collaboration. His idea circulated, crossed borders, and eventually caught the attention of Baron Éric de Rothschild. On a trip to Chile for Viña Los Vascos, the Baron crossed the Andes to meet Catena in Mendoza. That detour would mark the beginning of a unique blend between two worlds.
The Malbec tasted that day came from the Primera Zona, around Agrelo, in the Luján de Cuyo region. At over 900 meters above sea level, the vines yielded ripe, generous fruit with impressive concentration. The wine was dense, focused, stripped of excess. Serious in tone, but never short of brilliance.
When Éric de Rothschild first descended into the underground cellars of a winery built in 1884, in the heart of Mendoza, he admitted to having ‘goosebumps’. The natural humidity, stable temperatures, and brick walls echoed Bordeaux limestone, just under different skies. This iconic building would, a few years later, become home to the Bodegas CARO cellar. In the meantime, a name had already imposed itself: CARO. Catena + Rothschild. A project built on equal footing, born from a simple intuition: that Cabernet and high-altitude Malbec could compose a great Argentine wine, if the land was allowed to speak.
The first vintage was released the following year. Fermentations in concrete vats, ageing in French oak barrels, some from the Tonnellerie des Domaines. The style was tight, precise. Roles became clearer: Cabernet brought the structure, Malbec filled the frame. The wine found its axis—vertical, resting on Andean shoulders.
In Mendoza, winemaking is an intrinsic part of daily life. One story goes that a load of grapes once sat waiting three hours at the edge of the vineyard because the driver had fallen asleep under a tree, lulled by the calm of a Mendocino afternoon. Another story: during the World Cup, no one touches the tanks when Argentina plays. Cábala* rules. Same shirt, same table, same barrel…in this case, superstition is just another winemaking tool.
The story of Bodegas CARO is much like a one-two pass, where France and Argentina trade the ball, moving forward together. Combining Bordeaux’s control with the flair of a Mendocino sidestep. The blends evolve. The style becomes its own.
Today, the estate is structured around four identified vineyards. In San Pablo, Finca Désiré, perched at 1,350 meters, is dedicated to Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay. Its name says it all. This site was much sought-after and long awaited. Twelve potential plots, two hundred soil pits, months of mapping. Situated on one of Uco Valley’s coolest terroirs, with seven distinct soil types, it’s an ambitious undertaking. The first and much-anticipated harvest is set for 2026.
At Altamira, Numa Camille hosts the Cabernet Sauvignon, and Finca 99 vineyard, the Malbec. Finally, in Gualtallary, a fourth vineyard located at 1,250 meters, completes this quartet: Finca GUALTALLARY. It offers remarkable potential for wines that are taut, precise, and grounded in altitude.
A shared vision, a shared gesture: to plant with the future in mind. In Mendoza, the future of Bodegas CARO is being written with hands in the soil.
But at Bodegas CARO, exploring altitude is no longer enough. The lines must be pushed further. A new ambition emerges: white wine. Planting Chardonnay in the Andes is a way of showing that a great Argentine white is not an oxymoron, but a promise. Finca Désiré was conceived from the start as a demanding laboratory: gentle irrigation, biodiversity corridors, organic certification from the very beginning. The technical teams from Bordeaux and Mendoza taste blind, seeking the beauty of a Pavard goal, or the emotion of a Dibu Martínez save in the 120th minute of a World Cup final.
Since 2020, Saskia de Rothschild and Laura Catena have jointly led the project. ‘two friends or two visionaries, two paths, one shared idea’. Finca Désiré is not a replica of Finca 99; it’s a different breath, longer, finer.
Post-match analysis
Today, Bodegas CARO continues on its path. In Mendoza, while France and Argentina keep clashing in finals that quicken the pulse, there is one place where the two countries have, for once, chosen to share the cup.
*A cábala is a sort of lucky ritual, something repeated before an important event (a football match, an exam, a date, or even the harvest) to bring good fortune.
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