Kaiken

Kaiken is a wine producer from Argentina, making wines in the country's key regions Mendoza and Salta. It was set up in 2002 by Aurelio Montes, founding partner of Chile's Viña Montes, to capitalize on the popularity of Argentinian wine. The company's vineyards are all planted on alluvial soils on the edge of the Andes Mountains, and are planted to a range of classic Argentinian grape varieties like Malbec, Bonarda, Cabernet Sauvignon and Torrontés.

In Mendoza, there are three high-altitude vineyards: in Vistalba, Agrelo, and in Vista Flores in the Uco Valley. These vineyards have alluvial sandy loam soils, producing intense, powerfully flavored grapes. In Salta, Kaiken's vineyard is found on deep sandy soils at an even higher altitude in the subregion of Cafayate. Torrontés is the key grape variety here, making a fresh, aromatic white wine.

Kaiken's range covers several styles. Along with several varietal wines in the Reserve, Ultra and Terroir Series names, Kaiken makes a prestige cuvée called Mai, which means "first" in the language of the Pehuenches, the people who first inhabited Mendoza. This wine is 100-percent Malbec from Kaiken's three Mendoza vineyards, aged for 18 months in new French oak and then for a further two years in bottle before release.