“The level of precision here is amazing; they might very well be the finest producer in Argentina.” – Wine Advocate

The bad news… if you are seeing this, we sold out of the 2021. But the good news – we also got an allocation of the 100-pointer from 2020!

Some wines – the finest wines – go beyond variety, beyond winemaking, transporting you to a specific place and time.

Full-bodied but lithe, juicy yet focused, powerfully complex yet subtle, at A PERFECT 100-points (with a couple of 98’s for good measure), it is a wine that reframes the conversation.

And today, wait… WAY under $100?!

Seriously, this is a level of quality RARELY SEEN AT TWICE THIS PRICE (even at Wine Spies…)

And with just a handful of cases to share, only our savviest (and quickest) serious red wine connoisseurs will get a shot at it.

This is what we expect from Zuccardi. Named New World Winery of the Year by Wine Enthusiast in 2022, selected by The World’s Best Vineyards as the Best Vineyard in the World three years in a row (before joining the hall of fame). And the winery with more Wine Advocate 100-point scores than any other in Argentina… and we could go on. The awards and praise stacks higher than the Eiffel Tower and they all add up to one simple fact.

Zuccardi is in a league of their own.

There is no shortage of praise for them, but perhaps Vinous sums up their journey best best, “The story of Bodega Zuccardi encapsulates the evolution of contemporary Argentine wine. Just 20 years ago, Zuccardi was relatively unknown in the global fine wine market but has since emerged as a producer of some of Argentina’s most intriguing reds… championing soil-focused approaches, exemplified by their exceptional parcel wines. Their Malbec offerings—Concreto, Alluvial, and Fincas—are terroir-driven and embody the house’s signature pure, un-oaked style.”

(If you need more proof, just read the Wine Advocate’s 422-word write-up below! They totally did the homework for us. Just…WOW.)

Currently helmed by the third generation, the dynamic Sebastián Zuccardi, they are OBSESSED with terroir and quality.

The Finca Las Cerrilladas (ser-ree-YAH-das) bottling is one of four reds they produce as an exploration of soil within their vineyard in the Monasterio section of the region of Gualtallary (gwal-tah-YAH-ree) – one of the BEST regarded regions in all of Argentina. The vineyard was painstakingly divided into 30 parcels by soil types, with Las Cerrilladas representing sections of lime-rich sand, gravel, and clay. In the same way limestone is special in helping promote the structure and finesse in the finest Burgundy, the soils here add layers of intricacy and polish to Malbec that are transcendent! And it’s clearly capturing the attention of critics.

Tightly coiled, after some time in a decanter it unwinds to reveal a brooding and complex nose of black plum, crushed berries, fresh violets, delicate wild herbs, and subtle earth. Seamless, tense, muscular, it is a prize-fighter in their prime, presenting an agile grace and unbelievable power that will haunt you as it knocks you off your feet. It could go toe-to-toe with the best in the world… and it’s built to last.

As Jeb Dunnuck says in their superlative 100-point review, “Outstanding in every way, it will age 20-30 years with ease.”

As with the 2021 and our other Zuccardi offers before, you know… IT ALWAYS SELLS OUT!

At this price, for PURE PERFECTION?! Grab it before it’s gone.

100 Points – Jeb Dunnuck “A multi-generational winery and restaurant in the Valle de Uco under the guidance of winemaker Sebastian Zuccardi, these are mountain wines with a sense of place, expressive of the terroir of specific vineyards, parcels, soils, and altitude. In 2016, the winery was built after dividing vineyards by soil type, and it’s made entirely of concrete inside and out, with concrete vessels also used for fermentation and aging. Its highest-level wines are the Parcel Wines, made to show the uniqueness of a particular parcel of land within an estate vineyard. Blending three parcels brimming in calcareous soils, one with red caliche, one with white caliche, at 4,462-feet elevation, the 2020 Malbec Finca Las Cerrilladas explodes in white pepper and herb, evoking the natural vegetation that grows around the high-altitude site. Giving, lengthy, and complex, it’s a remarkably memorable, complex, and intriguing wine that leaves an undeniable impression. Outstanding in every way, it will age 20-30 years with ease. Drink 2025-2055.”

98 Points – Wine Advocate “The Zuccardi family has eight vineyards in the Valle de Uco; they are planting 35 hectares of white in San Pablo, one of the best places for whites for them, and they keep buying more land and vineyards there, working mostly organically, but they have to find a solution for the ants. So, there’s no certification in any of the wines there; it’s on the way—no herbicides or any systemic treatments—but right now they cannot certify the vineyard. They have around 300 hectares of vines planted in smaller (40- to 50-hectare) vineyards and produce 1.7 million bottles. But they focus on vineyard work in Altamira, San Pablo and Gualtallary. They are gradually abandoning the 500-liter barrels and moving more to large oak foudres of 2,500 and 5,000 liters. Polígonos are village wines, Aluvional are lieu-dit (paraje) wines, and then there are the single vineyard wines—and even sub plots! For Sebastián Zuccardi, 2019 and 2022 have been excellent and cooler years (2019 the best), 2018 and 2021 are classical (not too warm and not too cold, close to 2022) and 2020 and 2017 warm years. 2016 was exceptionally cold and rainy. The wines are phenomenal, the work they do is impressive, and they are at the very top of the pyramid of the quality producers from Argentina. The level of precision here is amazing; they might very well be the finest producer in Argentina at the moment. The Malbecs from Piedra Infinita are very transparent with the condition of the year and the soils, and tasting them together is fascinating. They started working more seriously on their whites around 2013, and this time, they presented three more whites—one Semillon and two Chardonnays. They consider 2021 a very good year for them and superb for whites, when they have produced some of their best whites to date. The 2020 Finca Las Cerrilladas has gentler tannins than the 2019; this is different but still very balanced and serious, with the subtle aromas of the wild herbs and flowers, the thyme and rockrose, the grainy tannins and the chalky sensation. This feels every bit as good as the initial 2019. They played with the different plots and found that, in a warmer year like 2020, they used more grapes from plots with pink caliche stone—a formation of dissolved limestone and clay somewhat similar to marl—and less from shallower soils and slopes where they have goblet pruning. It even feels subtler than the 2019… 5,900 bottles were filled in June 2021. Drink 2024 – 2032.”

98 Points – James Suckling “Graphite, wild herbs, black pepper, grilled thyme and oregano to the black fruit. Lots of blueberries and blackberries on the palate with a remarkable amount of polished tannins. Concentrated, pristine, but complex. Better from 2026.”