Winemaker Notes
The 2020 was a very particular vintage, characterized by limited yields and a high speed of maturity, which made it one of the fastest and most challenging on record. The grapes from all areas and varieties arrived at the winery with unbeatable health and the highest quality. The wines generally show excellent aromatic complexity and great juiciness, texture and structure in the mouth.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Superb depth here. Oyster shells, thyme, wild herbs, ink, graphite and lots of black cherries. A powerhouse of tannins on the full-bodied palate; vertical, colossal. Austere and puristic but super confident and chalky. Polished, too. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There is a lot of subtleness, precision, elegance and harmony in the 2020 Finca Piedra Infinita Gravascal. It comes from a plot that takes well the warmer and cooler vintages like this 2020, when the wine achieved transparency, elegance and precision, which are the three characteristics they seek for in their wines. Like all of the top-of-the-range wines from their property in Paraje Altamira, this fermented with indigenous yeasts in concrete and matured exclusively in concrete and didn't see any oak to keep the poise, elegance and balance while showing the character of the vintage, place and variety.
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Vinous
The 2020 Malbec Finca Piedra Infinita Gravascal hails from a tiny plot in the eponymous vineyard in Paraje Altamira, where the soils are rich in gravel and chalk. Purple in the glass. The sharply defined nose delivers rose, mint, plum, raspberry and violet notes. Dry and restrained in the mouth, the lean, taut palate resonates with a rich, chalky texture and juicy mouthfeel. The complex, extremely nuanced red asks intriguing questions of the drinker. The precision is all the more admirable, given the warm year.
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.