Description
The Zuccardi family’s primary focus is to produce wines that share a sense of place from their home in the Uco Valley, at the foot of the Andes in Mendoza. The Uco Valley is the highest elevation of any cultivated valley in the region and it benefits from a cool, dry climate and a wide temperature range, as well as a broad range of microclimates, altitudes and soil types.
Three generations of the Zuccardi family have spent their lives in the Uco Valley working the land to best express all of the unique terroir they find, and their Piedra Infinita vineyard is the jewel in the family crown and home to their winery. The vineyard sits at 1100m above sea level in the IG Paraje Altamira, and is a remarkable example of the family’s pursuit of faithful interpretation of their home – the effort and determination to clear the surface stones from the vineyard for the winery building and vine planting alone led the family to name it ‘Piedra Infinita’, or ‘Infinite Stones’ in English.
THE WINE ADVOCATE 95 points
Drink Date 2021 - 2027
“The difference between the 2018 Finca Los Membrillos and the 2017 I tasted next to it was notable. In the cooler 2018, the wine showed a lot more restraint and less ripeness. It's a single-vineyard bottling of pure Cabernet Sauvignon that reveals spicy and peppery notes; it's balsamic and minty without excess. The palate is medium-bodied and the tannins are fine, textbook of the variety. There's more complexity, balance and finesse here than in the 2017. Cabernet Sauvignon is super sensitive to the conditions of the year; this is grainier, more textured, fresher and more elegant. 3,400 bottles produced. "
Aluvional is Zuccardi's village range, Altamira is the "paraje" or zone/quarter within the village, something larger than a vineyard, and then there is the single-vineyard range, being more precise in the origin of the grape as you go up in the hierarchy, a little in the Burgundy style. But in the single-vineyard Finca Piedra Infinita, they also have plots, Supercal and Gravascal, like the lieux-dits in a crus. They even use "lugar dicho," which is the Spanish translation for "lieu-dit." - Reviewed by Luis Gutiérrez
DECANTER 94 points
Drinking Window: 2021 - 2028
In 2010, Sebastián Zuccardi bought a vineyard he was convinced would produce a Cabernet Sauvignon to rival some of his best Malbecs. Planted in the stony soils of an old riverbed, its vines deliver excellent quality fruit. Fermented in concrete, the wine is aged for 14 months in used barrels. The nose features herbs and balsamic notes initially before red and black berries come out in the glass while in the mouth it flows well with a medium body, good tension and a velvety texture. - Tasted by: Alejandro Iglesias
