Malbec wines from 27 parcels from the three most important winemaking regions of Mendoza, Argentina, were produced under standardized winemaking conditions, and analyzed for phenolic composition and by means of sensory descriptive analysis. Different methods of characterization and cluster analysis for each data matrix showed that some locations of Mendoza could be significantly separated from each other. The results of unsupervised statistical methods were compared using a test for similarities and divergences, also showing that different locations may be associated. The current report is the first one characterizing Malbec wines from the three major producing regions of Argentina using two different ways for locations classification. The effects of climate and geographical origin of Malbec grapes on the quality parameters of resulting wines were also evidenced. These results have enological and viticulture interest for the winemaking industry as the vineyard site selection for Malbec can considerably affect quality attributes.
Keywords: Classification; Malbec; Phenolic compounds; Regionality; Sensory descriptive analysis; Terroir; Wine.
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