Four Crazy Cats & the Calcareous Hand
4 Gatos Locos is the passion project of four friends — Gabriel Bloise, Facundo Bonamaizon, Mariana Salas and Juan Pelizzatti — who, between them, built one of Argentina's most respected wine estates and then chose to make something wilder, more personal, and more honest. In Alto Gualtallary, on the slopes of the Sierra del Jaboncillo at 1,360 metres, they farm 20 hectares of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon on calcareous soils rich in calcium carbonate, surrounded by rosemary, oregano and rockrose that perfume the vines and the wines. The project is certified organic, fermented with indigenous yeasts, and raised in a combination of concrete pools, unlined concrete eggs, 500-litre French oak barrels and 5,000-litre foudres — a deliberately eclectic cellar that mirrors the four distinct personalities behind the name. The result is Malbec and Cabernet of exceptional structure, chalky tension, and aromatic complexity — wines that taste of the Andean caliche, the mountain herbs, and the friendship that made them possible.
Gabriel, Facundo, Mariana & Juan — the Chakana Hand
The story of 4 Gatos Locos begins with four friends who changed the face of Argentine wine. Gabriel Bloise — the former head winemaker of Chakana — Facundo Bonamaizon, Mariana Salas and Juan Pelizzatti are the founders of Chakana, one of the most respected and forward-thinking estates in Mendoza. Together they pioneered biodynamic farming, organic viticulture, and terroir-driven winemaking in the Uco Valley, building a reputation for precision and innovation. But after years of shaping a global brand, they felt the pull of something smaller, more anarchic, and more personal — a project that could be defined not by market demands but by friendship, instinct, and the wild character of a single, extraordinary vineyard.
In 2008 and 2009, they planted and acquired a 20-hectare vineyard in Alto Gualtallary, one of the most promising and geologically distinctive zones of the Uco Valley. The site sits on the slopes of the Sierra del Jaboncillo, near the alluvial cone of the Río Las Tunas, at 1,360 metres above sea level on a steep 10% gradient. The soils are rich in calcium carbonate — calcareous, chalky, and poor in organic matter — producing wines of natural acidity, firm tannin, and unmistakable mineral tension. The four friends chose to farm the vineyard organically from the outset, and the estate is now certified organic, with the vines tended according to the same rigorous standards they established at Chakana, but with a looser, more playful spirit in the cellar.
The name 4 Gatos Locos — literally "Four Crazy Cats" — is a nod to the Argentine slang for a small, tight-knit group of misfits, and it captures the project's ethos perfectly. Each of the four founders brings a distinct sensibility: Gabriel the winemaker's precision and restless creativity, Facundo the viticulturist's intimacy with the land, Mariana the commercial vision and narrative instinct, and Juan the strategic and philosophical anchor. This quadruple personality is literally reflected in the wine labels: the Malbec is released in a box of four bottles, each with a different label representing one of the four friends — a playful, collectable gesture that turns the wine into a shared statement of identity rather than a conventional product.
"A project created by four passionate wine lovers who have made it their mission to define and reveal a place."
— 4 Gatos Locos
Alto Gualtallary & the Sierra del Jaboncillo
The estate is located in Alto Gualtallary, the highest and most geologically complex district of the Tupungato department in the Uco Valley, Mendoza. Situated on the slopes of the Sierra del Jaboncillo at 1,360 metres above sea level, the vineyard occupies a 10% gradient that faces the Andes and catches the full force of the mountain sun. The site lies near the alluvial cone of the Río Las Tunas, in the northwestern sector of the Uco Valley, where the soils are a calcareous mosaic of calcium carbonate, gravel, sand, and alluvial stones washed down from the Frontal Cordillera over millennia. The climate is high-desert continental: intensely sunny, extremely dry, with sharp diurnal temperature swings that can exceed 20°C between day and night, and a growing season elongated by the altitude into a slow, patient ripening that preserves acidity and builds phenolic complexity.
The soils are the defining feature of the estate. Composed of three distinct layers of calcareous sediment — the product of fluvial and alluvial deposits carried down from the Andes — they consist of a mix of calcium carbonate, gravel, sand, and large round river stones. The surface horizons are highly calcareous, poor in organic matter, and exceptionally well-drained. This is not generous soil; it is chalky, stony, and demanding, forcing the vines to send roots deep into the fissures in search of water and nutrients. The calcium carbonate content is particularly high, lending the wines a distinct chalky, mineral freshness and a firm, dry tannic structure that is rare in warmer Mendoza sub-regions. The gravel component ensures excellent drainage, while the sand provides a moderating influence on root temperature and water retention.
What makes the terroir truly unique, however, is the presence of native aromatic plants integrated into the vineyard ecosystem. Rosemary, oregano and rockrose grow wild among the rows, their scents carried on the mountain wind and, according to the four friends, enriching the wines with a strong, unmistakable personality. These plants are not merely decorative; they are indicators of a healthy, biodiverse ecosystem fostered by organic farming and the absence of synthetic chemicals. The vineyard is certified organic, tended by hand, and harvested manually in small boxes to ensure pristine fruit reaches the cellar. The result is a vineyard that produces grapes of exceptional concentration, natural acidity, and aromatic complexity — fruit that needs little manipulation to express its origins.
4 Gatos Locos is based in Alto Gualtallary, the highest and most geologically distinctive sub-region of the Uco Valley, widely considered one of the most promising terroirs in Argentine viticulture. The district sits on the slopes of the Sierra del Jaboncillo at 1,360 metres, near the alluvial cone of the Río Las Tunas, in a high-desert landscape of calcareous soils, gravel fans, and alluvial stones. The climate is intensely sunny and dry, with more than 300 days of sunshine annually and less than 250mm of rainfall, relying on snowmelt irrigation from the Andes. While much of Mendoza pursues ripeness and volume, Alto Gualtallary offers something rarer: a microclimate of slow maturation, high natural acidity, and mineral tension that the four friends recognised as ideal for wines of structure and authenticity.
The 4 Gatos Locos terroir is defined by soils rich in calcium carbonate — a geological signature of the Andean alluvial fan near the Río Las Tunas. The topsoil is a mix of calcium carbonate, gravel, sand, and large round river stones, highly calcareous and almost devoid of organic matter. Beneath lies a harder layer of cemented caliche that forces roots to penetrate deeply in search of water. This mineral matrix produces grapes with thick skins, concentrated flavours, and a natural acidity that is rare in Mendoza. The calcium carbonate influence is particularly evident in the Malbecs, lending a chalky, dry tannic structure and a savoury, mineral freshness that distinguishes these wines from the softer, riper styles of lower-altitude regions. The Cabernet Sauvignon draws a darker, more graphite-laden profile from the same stones.
The vineyard has been farmed organically since it was planted in 2008–2009, and 4 Gatos Locos is certified organic. The farming regime rejects all synthetic chemicals in favour of organic composts, cover crops, and natural pest management. The presence of rosemary, oregano and rockrose growing wild among the vines is not accidental; it is the result of a farming philosophy that encourages biodiversity and treats the vineyard as a living ecosystem rather than a monoculture. These aromatic plants contribute to the health of the soil and the complexity of the wines, lending herbal, resinous notes that are unmistakable in the glass. The result is a living vineyard where the vines, the calcareous soils, and the native flora of the Andean foothills coexist in a tense, sun-hardened harmony.
The vineyard was planted in 2008 and 2009, meaning the vines are now entering their second decade — an age at which the roots have penetrated the calcareous subsoil and the wines begin to express true terroir rather than youthful vigour alone. The Malbec vines are trained on a 10% slope facing the Andes, capturing the intense mountain sun while the altitude preserves acidity. The Cabernet Sauvignon parcel, planted in 2008, is equally well-established, producing small quantities of concentrated, mineral-laden fruit. The four different labels on the Malbec bottles are not a marketing gimmick but a statement of philosophy: each represents one of the four founders, and the box of four is designed to be shared among friends — a reminder that wine is a social, communal art, and that the best bottles are those that bring people together.
Concrete, Foudre & the Indigenous Hand
For the four friends behind 4 Gatos Locos, the cellar is a place of deliberate eclecticism and low-intervention honesty. They employ a variety of vessels — concrete pools, unlined concrete eggs, 500-litre French oak barrels, and 5,000-litre French oak foudres — each chosen to express a different facet of the Alto Gualtallary terroir. The goal is never uniformity but diversity: a range of textures and structures that reflect the four personalities behind the project. Fermentations are carried out with indigenous yeasts, and macerations are long and patient — 21 to 28 days on the skins — allowing the calcareous tannins and mountain aromatics to integrate fully into the wine.
The Malbec is the flagship and the most variable in its elevage. Depending on the vintage and the cuvée, it may be raised in concrete pools with 30% used French oak barrels, or in 2,000-litre unlined concrete eggs, or in a combination of 500-litre new French oak barrels and 5,000-litre oak foudres. The Cabernet Sauvignon sees 21 days of maceration in stainless steel tanks before ageing in 500-litre first-use French oak barrels — a more traditional approach that respects the variety's need for structure and oxygen. The 80/20 Malbec-Cabernet blend follows a similar protocol: indigenous yeasts, 21 days of maceration, and ageing in 500-litre first-use French oak. Throughout the range, temperature is not artificially manipulated; the wines ferment at their own pace, in their own time, in the quiet underground cellar.
The Miau Sin Sulfitos cuvée represents the project's most radical statement: a Malbec fermented and raised without any added sulphites, aged in concrete pools with 30% used barrels, and bottled with nothing but the wine itself. It is fresh, fruity, and unmistakably Gualtallary — a proof that the combination of healthy organic fruit and calcareous soils can produce wines of natural stability and vibrant honesty without recourse to chemical preservatives. Across the portfolio, the wines are not fined and not filtered, and sulphur is kept to an absolute minimum — the standard cuvées receive only a minimal addition at bottling, while the Miau receives none at all.
Indigenous Yeasts, Concrete Eggs & the Four-Vessel Philosophy
The guiding principle of 4 Gatos Locos is that the wine must reflect not only the place but the four people who made it. The organic farming provides healthy, complex grapes. The hand harvest in small boxes provides pristine fruit. The indigenous yeasts provide spontaneous, site-specific fermentation that changes with each vintage. The long macerations — 21 to 28 days — provide the tannic structure and phenolic depth that calcareous soils demand. The eclectic range of vessels — concrete pools, concrete eggs, 500L barrels, and 5,000L foudres — provides a spectrum of textures, from the chalky, mineral purity of concrete to the subtle spice and roundness of large-format oak. The absence of fining and filtration provides wines that are cloudy, vibrant, and texturally alive. And the minimal or zero sulphur provides a wine that tastes of Andean caliche, rosemary, and mountain wind, not of the laboratory. The cellar is not a factory; it is a continuation of the friendship — a place where four distinct sensibilities translate high-altitude Mendoza fruit into wine that is structured, aromatic, and unmistakably of its place.
Miau, Cuatro & the Calcareous Hand
4 Gatos Locos produces a tightly curated portfolio of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon that showcases the calcareous, high-altitude terroir of Alto Gualtallary through a variety of cellar approaches. The range is built around 100% Malbec — the soul of the project — with expressions of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and a Malbec-Cabernet blend that extends the project's reach. All wines share a common foundation: hand-harvested fruit from certified organic vineyards, spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, long macerations of 21 to 28 days, and ageing in a combination of concrete and French oak. The labels are playful and personal — the Malbec is released in boxes of four bottles with four different labels, each representing one of the founders — but the contents are serious: structured, chalky, aromatic wines of exceptional depth and mineral tension. Production is limited; the vineyard yields only a small quantity of concentrated fruit, and the wines are sought after by a growing international community of enthusiasts who recognise that the most exciting wines of the Uco Valley are those that taste of their soil.
Four Friends & the Calcareous Hand
4 Gatos Locos is not merely a winery; it is a proof that four friends who built one of Argentina's most respected estates, armed with a 20-hectare vineyard, a concrete egg, and a refusal to accept the commercial conventions of Mendoza, can produce bottles that redefine the possibilities of friendship in wine. In an era when the Uco Valley is increasingly dominated by industrial scale, globalised palates, and the relentless pursuit of critical scores, Gabriel, Facundo, Mariana and Juan have demonstrated that the same Alto Gualtallary calcareous soils can produce wines that are structured rather than soft, chalky rather than sweet, and personal rather than generic — if the farming is organic, the cellar is a place of eclectic honesty, and the philosophy is one of shared identity rather than solitary ambition.
The legacy of 4 Gatos Locos is the legacy of the collective hand in viticulture. Each of the four founders brings a distinct sensibility to the project, and the wine is literally divided into four labels — a gesture that turns every box into a shared experience, a communal act, a reminder that wine is made by people and meant for people. The rosemary and oregano that grow wild among the vines are not merely aromatic curiosities; they are indicators of a biodiverse, healthy ecosystem that the four friends have nurtured since 2008. And the Miau Sin Sulfitos is not a radical outlier but a statement of trust — trust in the health of the organic fruit, the stability of the calcareous soils, and the ability of natural processes to produce wine that needs no chemical assistance.
The future of the project is tied to the future of the vineyard as it enters its second decade. As the 2008–2009 vines accumulate another year of root depth in the calcium carbonate, as the 4 Gatos Malbec continues to find its audience among collectors seeking structure and authenticity, and as the Miau Sin Sulfitos proves that zero-sulphur Malbec from Gualtallary can be both stable and profound, 4 Gatos Locos remains what it has always intended to be: a friendship made visible in wine — structured, aromatic, and deeply tied to the calcareous slopes of the Sierra del Jaboncillo. The story of 4 Gatos Locos is the story of four friends who looked at the commercial wine world and chose to make something smaller, wilder, and more honest — and who proved that the best bottle from Mendoza is the one that needs no critic's score, only a glass, a meal, and three friends to share the other three labels.
"A project created by four passionate wine lovers who have made it their mission to define and reveal a place."
— 4 Gatos Locos