Apelacion Malbec
⏳ Drinking Window
2022 - 2028
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Grilled ribeye steak, roasted lamb chops, beef empanadas
✨ Technical Specifications
The Apelación series from Familia Zuccardi is a masterclass in terroir-driven winemaking, designed to highlight the unique microclimates and soil compositions of specific districts within Mendoza's high-altitude Uco Valley. This Malbec, typically sourced from the stony, alluvial soils of Vista Flores at approximately 1,000 meters above sea level, reflects the region's intense solar radiation and cool mountain nights. Winemaker Sebastián Zuccardi champions a minimalist approach, fermenting and aging the wine in concrete vessels without epoxy lining, and using neutral oak sparingly. This preserves the grape's vibrant, chalky minerality and fresh floral notes, offering a pure, unadorned expression of the Uco Valley's unique mountain 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
Malbec
🍷 ABV
13.5-14.5%