Apelacion Chardonnay
⏳ Drinking Window
2021 - 2024
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Grilled sea bass, roasted chicken with herbs, creamy mushroom risotto
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the high-altitude heights of Tupungato in Mendoza's famed Uco Valley, the Zuccardi Apelación Chardonnay is a masterclass in mountain viticulture. Sebastián Zuccardi's vision for this wine is to strip away the heavy, buttery oak influences of old-school New World Chardonnay, focusing instead on the pure, electric energy of the Andes. Grown at elevations exceeding 1,100 meters, the grapes experience extreme diurnal temperature shifts, preserving a piercing natural acidity. Fermented and aged primarily in concrete vessels, this wine pays homage to the stony, calcareous soils of the region. The result is a beautifully textured white that balances fresh citrus and white stone fruit with a distinct, chalky minerality that reflects the rugged beauty of the Tupungato landscape.
🍾 About the Producer
Familia Zuccardi was founded in 1963 by engineer Alberto 'Tito' Zuccardi, who planted experimental vines in Mendoza to demonstrate an innovative irrigation system. Under the stewardship of his son José Alberto and grandson Sebastián Zuccardi, the estate transformed into a vanguard of modern Argentine viticulture, shifting the focus decisively toward the high-altitude, cool-climate micro-terroirs of the Uco Valley. At elevations ranging from 1,000 to over 1,400 meters—most notably in Paraje Altamira, San Pablo, and Gualtallary—the estate farms on alluvial soils richly encrusted with calcium carbonate and marine limestone deposits. Farming avoids synthetic agrochemicals and embraces organic practices. Vinification prioritizes transparency and place, favoring spontaneous native-yeast fermentations in unlined concrete amphorae and minimal oak intervention. Renowned for parcel-specific Malbecs like Finca Piedra Infinita alongside taut, mineral white expressions such as Botanico Chardonnay and Polígonos Semillón, Zuccardi crafts wines marked by chiseled acidity, chalky tannins, and pristine Andean tension.
🍇 Grapes
Chardonnay
🍷 ABV
13%