We've got an Argentine quality producer on our hands! This one's Zuccardi's Serie A Malbec!

Zuccardi is one of the Argentina's largest producers and has seen quite the upswing within just three generations of the Zuccardi family, each advancing the family's vineyards to greater heights - quite literally!

The high altitude mountainous terrains of Mendoza, Argentina, have become a winemaker's dream.

Compared to some, Zuccardi is fairly young, having been established in 1968 by Alberto Zuccardi. Back then, the engineer wasn't even aiming to make wines! He had simply wanted to demonstrate that he could construct an efficient irrigation system and had thought it best to display its use on a vineyard! This was pretty critical as most of Argentina's wine producers are gathered around the Mendoza area, considered the best area for winemaking in the country, and it features a highly mountainous terrain that is very rocky and thus the soils tend to drain very quickly, requiring the use of regular irrigation.

By the 1980's, Zuccardi was handed over to Alberto's son, Jose, who was a sharp businessman who grew the vineyards and moved away from bulk wines and into selling wines under the Zuccardi name. He was also responsible for creating the popular Santa Julia label, which takes its name from Zuccardi's original winery and was in turn named after Jose's daughter, who today runs the family's hospitality interests. This allowed Zuccardi to gain international recognition, and thus grow its capacity.

Sebastian Zuccardi has proved himself to be quite the winemaker.

Yet, it wasn't till Jose's eldest son, Sebastian, who had studied viticulture and sought to learn from other highly regarded vineyards around the world before returning to the family's vineyards in 2008, brought along with him a strong winemaking philosophy that truly elevated Zuccardi's wines into renown. While Zuccardi was already doing fairly well under Jose, Sebastian made a massive shift into pursuing grapes with higher acidity that needed to be grown in higher altitudes. He began establishing vineyards in the Uco Valley of Mendoza, at elevations of up to 5,000 feet. He also shifted all of Zuccardi's vinification from traditional wooden barrels to concrete vessels, which he believed worked better to oxygenate the Malbec grapes that Argentina is well-known for, but would also ensure purity in the wines expressing its terroir, which he felt would be masked by oak.

Zuccardi's new Piedra Infinita winery in the Uco Valley.

An incredibly gutsy move! But it worked and Zuccardi's now got a couple of 100-point wines to their name! As well as an incredibly out of this world new vineyard high up the Uco Valley.

Today, as mentioned, we'll be trying a more common and accessible Zuccardi wine, closer to its earlier styles, the Serie A (representing Serie Argentina) which goes by its specific single varietal. This is the Serie A Malbec. There's also lesser known and more exotic varieties in the Serie A, such as Bonarda, Torrontes, and then also the more classic Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Chardonnay-Viognier.

This is termed as a regional wine by Zuccardi, indicating that it's made from 100% Malbec that is harvested from across Zuccardi's various vineyards, as opposed to being single vineyard. Gotta remember that these are pre-Phylloxera Malbecs that were brought over decades ago from Bordeaux, France! This is the 2016 vintage.

Let's go!

Zuccardi, Serie A Malbec 2016 - Review

Tasting Notes

Colour: Ruby

Aroma: Big fruity sweetness of grape gummies, blackcurrant cordial, assorted fruit jams and stewed plums. It's rich and juicy, very jammy, with a thickness to it. 

Taste: Medium richness here with a more gentle sweetness. It shows more restraint here, not quite as jammy. It's more on blackcurrant cordials mostly. Very soft tannins, less structured but it is moderately rich.

Finish: Clean finish, soft lingering sweetness, with a really lovely silky and rich texture.

My Thoughts

An altogether pretty fruity and rich Malbec that has a very lovely silky texture and leans towards a sweeter profile that should be a crowdpleaser. I did think it could use more structure and focus on the palate, and also be more energetic with more tension. For an entry-level Zuccardi - the sort if you just want to dip your toes into - this is a pretty decent pick and at a good price point too. This would work well as a daily drinker over dinner!

Kanpai!

@111hotpot