Bodega Ruca Malen

For the number of reviews I read ahead of time, I was somewhat underwhelmed by my experience at Ruca Malen, but I would still give 5 stars for the food, wine, and ambiance. The food was flavorful and well presented. The location of Ruca Malen is beautiful and the indoor seating offered great views of the Andes and vineyards. Every member of the staff we encountered was friendly and welcoming. The wine pairings were great and well explained by servers. The price point is excellent for the amount of food and wine offered. A few minor details of the experience did not match the caliber I expected from the recent Michelin attention ie: the empanadas at our table were not hot, table settings were not spotless, and the meat was fatty. The pairings, sides, palate cleanser, and desserts were excellent and we had a great experience overall, but it lacked the wow factor for me.

My husband and I visited Ruca Malen during our honeymoon and WOW was it amazing. Our tour guide Soledad had so much passion for the wines and encouraged us to discover our own passions for each wine, taste, and our own perfect setting for each wine. The capitulo tres malbec might be the best I've had in South America, if not all of the America's. This is a once in a lifetime experience! Muchisimas Gracias Sole!

I visited Argentina as part of a birthday trip that included a dozen wineries between here and Chile, and this one was by far my most magical experience out of all of them. I decided to purchase the 7-course lunch and wine pairing, and to say the entire experience was perfect would be an understatement. From the moment I parked and arrived, I was greeted at the door by a friendly hostess. She invited me to explore the grounds and take some photos while they prepared the dining area. They have a very nice outdoor seating area and I took advantage of it to sit and relax and soak up the views. After, the hostess came back out to guide my to my choice of seating, and I picked a lovely table for two by the window. Let me just say that EVERY SINGLE PLATE was phenomenal. My only regret is that I could not finish it all, and since I was driving, I also could not finish all of my wine. That being said, everything was exquisite. The meat was cooked exactly how I like it, the wine was all terrific and paired perfectly with the corresponding dish, and the service was flawless. Every plate and every wine was explained to me so I knew what I was getting, and I was so very appreciative that they ensured my water glass was always full so that I could drink plenty of water for a safe journey back home. The whole experience is advertised as lasting three hours and it definitely does! Honestly, I would have stayed for four or five hours if I didn't have to leave after everything was finished. All the above alone would have been enough to make this experience a memorable one. But it went way beyond that. Last year I lost my fiance, and this trip was originally meant to be our honeymoon trip. I decided to instead make the trip a birthday trip, and I had my fiance's stuffed lion with me as a companion in his memory. Some people think this is a little weird, but everyone here absolutely loved him. They allowed me to share his story with them, and they welcomed him as if he were with me in person. As a surprise at the end of it all, they brought me out a birthday cake and candle. It was extremely thoughtful, and it was, by far, the most memorable part of my entire trip. It was so touching and meant so very much to me that I was in tears (good tears!) by the time I was leaving. Special thanks to Lety and Diana and all the hard-working staff at Ruca Malen. They are all amazing and I wish I could have stayed longer and spend the evening drinking wine in their kind company. If you are planning a trip to Mendoza and want to ensure yourself a fabulous experience, then you MUST make it a point to visit this winery, and do the 7-course lunch. You will ensure yourself a very memorable experience, and even better if you don't need to drive after. I loved it, and I know that if I am ever back in Mendoza, this will be the very first place on my list to come back to. I cannot recommend it enough, and will always be grateful for the meaningful and unforgettable experience I had here. 🤩

Bodega Ruca Malen is an incredible experience. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars. My wife and I were visiting Mendoza from New York City, and we dropped in (no reservation!) for a 7-course lunch with wine pairings. Let me tell you, it was one of the best meals we have EVER had. Each course of the meal was exquisite, and the chef's choices were unique, well-prepared, and incredibly flavorful. We had 5 different wines (whites and reds), and each wine was lovely and perfectly paired with each course. Our server and sommelier were highly attentive, incredibly knowledgeable, and kept our wine glasses full throughout the nearly 3 hour meal. In addition, the bodega is located inside a sprawling and gorgeous vineyard, with the Andes mountains in the background. Much of the staff spoke both English and Spanish. If you are in Lujan de Cuyo, you absolutely must stop by for lunch. You will be talking about this meal for days. If I lived in the region, I would come here at least once a month!

The new concept of Ruca Malen wines under Agustina Hanna coordination and her exploratory spirit are perfectly displayed in the wines. I tasted a selection of Capitulo I line, with young, fresh but elegant and sofisticated proposals. Aylén was in charge of taking us to an amazing journey starting from the winery history, moving to the winemaking process and finishing with a delicious tasting! I will come back to enjoy gastronomic proposal. 🍷❣️

The place is heaven on earth. The floor seems a thick green carpet, the view of the mountains (still snowy in November!) and the beautiful weather made us have an exquisite experience. Nevertheless the food (although 6 pasos) was scarce and the wine was somewhat short (less than a glass every step of the way) for the AR$1,500 we paid per person. If you are lucky you get a nice waiter that serves you a bit more. Overall we had a great time. Arrive early as 12pm to get a table outside if the weather is nice.

Diana is precious! Such wonderful hospitality and very knowledgeable. We gave her tips about American wineries (California, Oregon, Washington, Finger Lakes region). She was so enthusiastic and inquisitive as were we about this area and history. Unfortunately we visited on Sovereignty Day and missed the restaurant being opened. However, very nice tour and tasting. Absolutely gorgeous property. The wine? Wow! Beautiful petit verdot and Cabernet franc. I have not personally had an Argentinian Pinot noir but I am now a huge fan. Thank you so much for a fun, beautiful, professional experience.

Amazing. Very beautiful, Mountain view. We got there without reservation but was able to try the wine and enjoy a bottle of wine we chose enjoying the views. Everyone is friendly, and you have different prices that fit all. Got there and back by uber.

Ruca was our first of three visits for the day and unfortunately this was our 'express tasting'. And I say unfortunately because I would've loved to have spent more time here. The wines were *chefs kiss*. Very light and packed with flavor and freshness. They were even running a special; buy two bottles get one free. Talk about come up. The property is absolutely stunning. Driving through the grounds on the way in reminded me in was in Mendoza. Breathtaking. We sat outside on a windy morning mid March making it a bit chilly. This is an awarded Michelin star and it shows. The staff were welcoming and friendly and spoke fluent English making us feel right at home.

Absolutely fantastic! We had the tasting menu with a different wine paired with each course. The pieced de resistance was a huge piece of filet mignon--see photo--done perfectly. As was all the other food. We were so stuffed by the time we got to dessert that we asked if we could wander around the vineyard before tackling it. "Of course." In fact we noted that another table had done the same. Visited in November, 2019, just before Covid.

We came to this restaurant for lunch. We were greeted with a glass of sparkling wine upon our arrival then we were taken to the outside dining area which was actually a covered room and with AC but because the entire walls were glass, they allowed for stunning views of the surrounding nature. The views from this restaurant are incomparable, with the Andes as a backdrop our meal was promising to be nothing short of amazing. We had a 7 course tasting menu paired with 6 different glasses of wine. All of the dishes we had here when compared to other restaurants we had been to, were truly tasting menu sized dishes. In other words smaller in size than normal. However, the size of the wine pours were not that small so by the end of the meal I was definitely feeling the alcohol. Word of advice, pace yourselves during the meal, don't drink the entire pour or get ready to stumble on your way out of the restaurant. We didn't have time to tour the winery or the cellar since arrived pretty late during their lunch window but we did get to walk a bit around the vineyard and got to appreciate the beautiful surroundings. This was another spectacular tasting meal we had in Mendoza, which along with Bodega La Azul, it's a restaurant not to be missed while visiting this region. The service was outstanding and again the price was half that of what we paid at El Enemigo which we thought was significantly overpriced.

This was my first tasting experience in Mendoza and it was a great one. The staff greeted us with a champagne and split up the visitors by English and Spanish. The views from this vineyard - overlooking the snowcapped mountains in the backdrop - are something you have to see to believe. The tour ended with a tasting of three different wines and a fee of $270 pesos/person.

Our sommelier, Javier Caruso #sommeliermendoza took us here for lunch after we flew in from Buenos Aires for a five-day wine tasting trip. The setting, the view of the Andes, the food and wine were all exceptional. Chargers were made of slate and plates of thin log cross-sections. Please check out the photos. Stunning.

Amazing!! Such good food, amazing wine pairings and truly knowledgeable staff... it may have been the best experience we had in Mendoza!

My partner and I did a tasting and lunch at Ruca Malen, and overall, it was a very beautiful and tasty lunch and the winds here are pretty good. We came here on the recommendation of our concierge. Since we were here in the low season, it was relatively easy to get a last-minute reservation for a tasting and lunch. This was probably the prettiest lunch in terms of the view that I had while in Mendoza. They have a separate dining area that is glass encased, and you have a view of the mountains. Light shines in from everywhere. Certainly a memorable dining experience. The menu is a set menu, but it is not that expensive from a dollar perspective. The food is very well thought-out and the pairings go really well. It really allows you to have the wines as they are intended - with food. We had a private tour with a fluent English speaker after our lunch. They have a different number of tourists throughout the lunch, but it was very nice to have a private one just for the two loss. The tour was not very long, but then they also didn't need to explain all the wines to us since we had just drank them all. We did take a tour of their garden from which they get most of the greens that we had just eaten. Overall, Ruca Malen was one of my favorite wineries in Lujan, and I definitely recommend it.

Absolutely fantastic experience here. Came for the tour of the Bodega as well as the wine pairing lunch, and everything was excellent. Service is tremendous, the wines are terrific, and the lunch is absolutely top notch.