Malmado Malbec
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2035
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Blue cheese, dark chocolate desserts, dried fruits and nuts
✨ Technical Specifications
Malamado (often referred to as Malmado) represents a pioneering chapter in Argentine viticulture as the country's first fortified Malbec, created by Familia Zuccardi. The name itself is a clever portmanteau of 'Malbec a la manera de Oporto'—Malbec in the style of Port. This innovative dessert wine is crafted from late-harvested Malbec grapes grown in Mendoza. During fermentation, high-proof wine spirit is added to halt the yeast activity, preserving the natural grape sugars while elevating the alcohol level. The wine is then aged in French oak barrels for approximately two years. This process yields a rich, complex elixir boasting deep notes of ripe plums, dried figs, quince, and sweet spices, showcasing a completely different, decadent dimension of Argentina's signature grape.
🍾 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
18.5%