Winemaker Notes
Intense purple color. The nose is extremely complex and progressively displays aromas of red and black fruits, herbs and notes of graphite and roses. In the palate, it shows good juiciness and concentration. Very fresh, with fine tannins, a delicate chalk texture, focused flavors and very persistent finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Pristine and fresh but also complex and deep. Tile, wild herbs and lots of blueberries and flowers on the nose. The ultra-fine, immaculate tannins are fully dissolved on the full-bodied palate. A great malbec that is so smooth on the palate. Super polished but intellectual. A baby now. Drink from 2026.
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Decanter
An alluring nose full of blackcurrants and softly fragrant plums with berry notes, damsons, milk chocolate and floral violets and crushed rose petals. Soft, smooth, succulent and sumptuous, this 100% Malbec comes from the distinctive high-altitude Finca Canal Uco, 1,100m high with alluvial and calcareous soils in Paraja Altamira. It immediately expands in the mouth giving a combination of textured tannins, bright fruits and minerality in the chalk, graphite, liquorice, slate and wet stones aspects. This feels so precise and well put together with plentiful and pure fruit, salinity, chalkiness and juiciness. Gorgeous frame, stylish, confident and compelling. A round mouthfeel with persistence and crushed velvet in texture. Seductive and moreish, a bright and true expression which craves food and a long time to contemplate how wonderful it is. Utterly drinkable form the supremely talented and devout winemaker Sebastian Zuccardi. 3.56pH. 100% whole bunch fermentation, 15 day maceration and ageing in concrete vats before being bottled after the next harvest. 3.56pH. 100% whole bunch fermentation, 15-day maceration and ageing in concrete.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Finca Canal Uco comes from the historical part of Altamira, only across the street from their Piedra Infinita vineyard, where the soils are slightly deeper and with a little less limestone; the grapes achieve more ripeness and deliver slightly more generous wines from soils that could be the equivalent to the Gravascal from Piedra Infinita. The vines were planted ungrafted 14 years ago. In 2020, they selected grapes from four or five separate plots in the vineyard to create this cuvée. Furthermore, 2020 was a very warm and dry year with high ripeness, but after their experience with the very warm 2017, they were ready to tackle such vintages (it was similar in 2023 too); they harvested some 15 days earlier than normal and did a shorter maceration, around 12 or 13 days. They always destem the grapes but put 100% of the stems back in the vat to avoid any risk of carbonic maceration. The wine is perfumed and clean, with some floral notes; it's juicy, as Malbec is always juicy, but there's no trace of sweetness. It has contained ripeness, 14% alcohol and a medium-bodied palate. It does not quite reach the finesse of the 2019, but it's fine-boned and harmonious, with the limestone tannins and great purity of an unoaked red à la Zuccardi vinified and aged exclusively in raw concrete. They produced 12,500 bottles that were filled in June 2021; they dedicated 7,000 of those bottles for global distribution and kept the rest for the markets in South America. Stunning stony Malbec with no fruit.
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Vinous
The 2020 Malbec Finca Canal Uco hails from Paraje Altamira in the Uco Valley. Purple in the glass. The floral nose offers notes of violets, ripe plum, blueberry, herbs and sage. Dry, juicy, and taut on the palate, the finely-grained, chalky tannins and lively, measured acidity produce a rich but compact mouthfeel. This is a long-lasting, juicy, nuanced red.
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Wine Spectator
A wet stone note paves the way, with concentrated violet and blueberry notes that swell around vibrant minerally acidity, adding layers of spiced plum and fresh herbs, lingering around smooth tannins and cocoa bean details on the finish. Drink now through 2033.
A few years before 1950, Ing. Alberto Zuccardi reaches Mendoza from his homeland in Tucuman where their great-grandparents had settled upon arriving in the Italian region of AveIino. In 1963, Alberto implanted a vineyard in the region of Maipu not knowing that it would begin the great passion of his life, the wine industry. In 1990, his son, Jose Alberto Zuccardi, assumed the General Director of the company.
In 2005, Sebastian Zuccardi, third generation of the family, lead the development of the new stage of the wines of the winery expansion into the Uco Valley. On his initiative, since 2008 the winery has an area of Research and Development dedicated to the study of the terroir and the different variables that affect wine production. In 2013 the construction of the new Zuccardi winery in the Uco Valley began. It opened in March 2016 with the premise of producing wines with identity, through the continuous exploration of the different terroirs of the Uco Valley.
The Zuccardi family’s approach to sustainability starts with the environment and people before any product. They’re dedicated to producing the highest quality wines through sustainable practices such as a focus on nurturing biodiversity, organic farming, efficient irrigation practices, composting, water treatment, comprehensive waste and recycling efforts, and the use of solar energy. The winery itself is designed to be naturally energy efficient by maximizing natural light and minimizing electricity consumption. Its concrete walls fulfill the function of a thermal insulator, the movements of liquid are caused by gravity and the concrete-designed vessels allow for a natural control of the temperature of the wine. As a third generation family-owned winery, the Zuccardi’s take seriously their responsibility to protect the environment, support the land, the farmers and uplift the local community. Through building schools, offering free education, fostering equality, banning child labor, and subsidizing health care, they’re not only elevating their wines and the Uco Valley as a world class wine region, but also giving the people who have contributed to their success a path forward and upward mobility for their own families.
Celebrated for its bold flavors and supple texture, Malbec has enjoyed runaway success in Argentina since the late 20th century. The grape originated in Bordeaux, France, where it historically contributed color and tannin to blends. A French agronomist, who saw great potential for the variety in Mendoza’s hot, high-altitude landscape, brought Malbec to Argentina in 1868. Somm Secret—If you’re trying to please a crowd, Malbec is generally a safe bet with its combination of dense fruit and soft tannins.
With a winning combination of cool weather, high elevation and well-draining alluvial soils, it is no surprise that Mendoza’s Uco Valley is one of the most exciting up-and-coming wine regions in Argentina. Healthy, easy-to-manage vines produce low yields of high-quality fruit, which in turn create flavorful, full-bodied wines with generous acidity.
This is the source of some of the best Malbec in Mendoza, which can range from value-priced to ultra-premium. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay also perform well here.