Zuccardi : Aluvional Altamira Malbec 2012

A Pure Expression of Argentine Malbec

The story of the iconic Zuccardi family estate began in 1963, when Albert Zuccardi first purchased a vineyard in the Maipu region of Mendoza, with the aim to display a new irrigation system he had developed for the region. Eventually, his passion for winemaking took over, and the family business was developed around a winery constructed in Maipu. Currently, the Zuccardi estate includes vineyards in a wide variety of terroirs around Mendoza, giving the wine making team plenty of options to work with in terms of wine style. Having grown into quite a large operation, Zuccardi remains a family owned and operated business and is considered one of the most innovative wine producers of Argentina. In 2000, the family began making wines from grapes grown in high-altitude vineyards in the Uco Valley. It is here that third-generation winemaker Sebastian Zuccardi produces the Icon Series, a range of wines which effortlessly express the extreme conditions of these vineyards. The Aluvional Altamira 2012 is a single-varietal Malbec wine, made from grapes grown at 1100 meters above sea level in the Paraje Altamira area of the Uco Valley. The vines are planted in stratified alluvial soil upon a conglomerate of limestone gravel. The grapes are moved with a gravity-fed system around the winery. Fermentation takes place in concrete vats, using exclusively indigenous yeasts. Maceration takes placed for 20-25 days before the wines are matured in barrels and concrete vats. The wines are not filtered before bottling.

In the glass, the Aluvional Altamira 2012 by Zuccardi displays a beautiful, deep red color. On the nose, the wine expresses a complex bouquet with a fruity character, offering intense notes of strawberry, cherry and plump along with fragrances of fresh herbs and flowers. The entry on the palate of this Zuccardi Malbec is quite silky and smooth, with a lively acidity and beautifully structure tannins leading up to a very long and generous finish.