Nothing is more inspiring and rewarding than to be part of a dream fulfilled ... than to be part of the creation of wine "Gracias A La Vida".

Four years ago, Emerson de Almeida, creator of theprestigious ‘Fundação Dom Cabral’ Business School in Brazil and his colleague and friend Luiz Eduardo Henriques partnered to take a journey where they pursued a great passion: wine.

I remember the first enthusiastic tastings with Emerson,Luiz and our head winemaker, Pablo Martorell to define the style of wine they dreamed of producing. It was not hard to come to the decision to produce a Valle de Uco Malbec. And so after tasting many Malbecs with friends they discovered one that really inspired them: Pablo Martorell’s personal wine Tierra de Dioses. A personal call to Pablo was sufficient and Gracias A La Vida was born.

Soon after, Emerson and Luiz named the wine Gracias A La Vida after the Mercedes Sosa's song. At the recent launch event in Belo Horizonte, we listened to the song while drinking the first two vintages, and all savored the sensory experience.  We had a comparative tasting of the two vintages that allowed us to see the expression of the terroir.

Gracias A La Vida 2011 is a 100% Malbec. Their grapes possessed an enviable top quality balance. 2011 was a year that provided great tannin structure, but with a lot of complexity and aging potential. The wine spent 22 months in new French Oak barrels.

Gracias A La Vida 2012 was created in the same style as the 2011 vintage, as 100% Malbec, and also spending 22 months in new French Oak barrels. The main difference was the 2012 vintage had slightly lower tannin structure but lot of elegant fruit making of it a very complex, approachable and elegant. 

The name of the wine says it all Gracias A La Vida is more than a wine ... it is a dream come true.

Learn more about the wine, and purchase, at www.graciaslavida.com