Familia Zuccardi

Written By Angus Hughson

Words by Jeni Port

Connection to the land is strong at Familia Zuccardi which has grown grapes in the Uco Valley in Mendoza for three generations.

Snow-capped mountains rise vertically, majestically, over the Valley.

Lying at the foot of the Andes, its wild, rugged beauty is both imposing and inspiring to the Zuccardi vignerons who, over the years, have chosen to challenge the extremes by planting vines higher in altitude reaching 1500 metres in some spots.

“We cultivate mountain wines,” says José Zuccardi. It’s an apt description.

The resulting wines have captivated wine drinkers and along the way challenged the common image of big, bold, generous Argentinian malbec – the country’s most famous and recognisable wine – highlighting another side to the grape, a more elegant and aromatic, finely focused expression, irrevocably changing perception of the grape for the better.

It’s a brave, forward thinking philosophy, but then it’s not the first time the Zuccardi name has been associated with change.

Mendoza, in the heart of Argentina’s wine country, is a land of extremes.

The Andes mountains rise to 7000 metres, but their imposing height reduces annual rainfall to around 180-300mm annually, creating large areas of desertification.

Thus, everything that is cultivated, including grapes, must be irrigated drawing water from the Tunuyián River.

Alberto Zuccardi, a civil engineer, worked in the 1950s in the Uco Valley to make irrigation systems more water efficient. In 1963, he planted his own vineyard, initially to showcase his irrigation systems, but fell in love with winegrowing, later building a winery, Familia Zuccardi, to make bulk wine to sell to local wineries.

When Alberto’s son, José, joined the company in 1976 he established the Zuccardi brand in the marketplace, first domestically and then internationally. Today, it exports to 70 countries.

Jose’s three children now work with him including his son, Sebastián, chief winemaker. An agronomist and engineer, he created a Research Development Department to undertake a detailed study of winegrowing in Mendoza. It led him in 1999 to seek out sparkling wine production in the higher altitudes of the Uco Valley, and then in 2007 to plant  three vineyards in the emerging Paraje Altamira, working with the area’s unique soil profile consisting of alluvial soils over massive granite rocks covered in a chalky layer of calcium carbonate.  At around 1100 metres he planted vineyards to malbec, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, tempranillo and a group of white grapes led by semillon, chardonnay, albariño, verdeyo and riesling among others.

Vineyards were also planted in San Pablo, at 1400m one of the coldest places in the Uco Valley, and at Gualtallary, 1360m, at the foot of the Jaboncillo hills. The decision to intersperse vines among large swathes of native vegetation in the limestone soils at Gualtallary was seen as a master stroke, bringing a highly individual and distinctive character to the wines courtesy of the area’s aromatic wild herbs, including jarilla and thyme, interspersed between the vines.

In order to promote the individuality of his high-altitude mountain wines made from single vineyards Sebastián Zuccardi introduced concrete amphorae, a neutral maturation vessel that imparts little to no flavour but can build texture into wines, among other benefits.

“We love the micro-oxygenation that happens in the concrete,” explains José Zuccardi. “Concrete has small porosity that contains some oxygen that helps the ageing of the wine.”

“We use round shapes with no epoxy lining inside. We did a lot of research before we built the winery.

“We worked in concrete with different shapes – square shapes and round shapes. During winemaking when we started taking the skins out of the concrete vats, we saw that in the square vats the treatment of the skins was different in the corners than in the middle of the vats.

“In the round shapes, the treatment was homogenous.

In 1998, Zuccardi built a small winery to handle some of the 30 different experimental grape varieties planted as part of the company’s research and development.  Among the grapes given the green light were albariño, marselan, caladoc (a blend of malbec and grenache) and viognier.

“We introduced viognier in Argentina, notes José, “and it’s working very well.  We have even made a sparkling viognier and we are working on a fortified.”

Challenging traditional views of Argentinian wine is important to the Zuccardi family, especially so when it comes to malbec. While he has lost count of just how many malbecs his company produces, José estimates it to be close to 30.

“We are fighting against that big wine old image of malbec,” he says. “We want terroir driven wines. What people see now too often is malbec with make-up,” he adds, a reference to the too often high alcohol, high oak combination associated with modern malbec.

“We prefer malbec without make-up.”

And what is that, exactly?

“Red and black fruits, plums and aromatic florals. Malbec spice is a fair part of the style,” he replies.

When they aren’t making wine, Familia Zuccardi makes a range of premium extra virgin olive oil, investing in old varieties, like arauco, first introduced to the Americas more than 500 years ago, and now a variety rarely seen in Europe.

Grapes, olives, the connection to the land is strong.

“We want to become part of the mountains,” says José. 

Nowhere is this more striking than in the stunning Zuccardi Uco Valley winery, designed and built in 2016 in all local, natural materials – just stone, sand and water – in tribute to, of course, the mountains.

2023 Zuccardi Botanico Chardonnay, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina

Green tinged straw. Vibrant quince, lemon, lime peel, apple aromas with almond skin notes. A quince-citrus tartness is a feature on the palate with apple, melon, lemon sherbet and light spice together with a stony, minerality. Racy acidity brings tension and a tautness that helps deliver a long, linear finish. Good balance and texture a key element. A striking, cool climate Mendoza chardonnay from a 1380m high vineyard site. Drink: 2025-2035 13% 93pts

2023 Zuccardi Serie A Malbec, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina

Medium deep purple. Fresh blackberry, dark plum, blueberry, sage, aniseed, lightly spiced bouquet. A youthful freshness and approachability on the palate with flavours of ripe black berries, dark plums, black cherry, herbs and spice. Fleshy textured and well-shaped sturdy tannins with plenty of berry fruit flavours on show. Drink: 2025-2028 14% 90pts

2023 Zuccardi Q Malbec, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina

Medium deep purple. A lovely spiciness leads the bouquet with aromas of red liquorice, cassis, cocoa, black and red fruits, briar, bush notes and earth. Spice continues to be a feature of the wine set against a backdrop of plum, black cherry, blueberry, earth and wild herbs. Finishes firm and persistent, an excellent food friendly style. Tight in structure, has the potential for further ageing. Q is a reference to Zuccardi’s Q research project devoted to improving quality through massale selection. Drink: 2025-2037 14% 92pts

2022 Zuccardi Concreto Malbec, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina

Deep, dark purple. Intense scent of ripe black fruits, brambly plums, dried berries, herbs, black pepper, earth, clay pot. The palate shows excellent concentration of fruit, chocolate, peppery spice, bush notes, earth and gravel underlying a distinctive chalky, dry texture. The palate is lightly savoury, boasting well-crafted tannins. Speaks eloquently of the earth. The name refers to the wine’s maturation in round-shaped concrete vessels. Drink: 2025-2037 14% 94pts

2020 Zuccardi José Zuccardi Malbec, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina

Deep, dark purple. Expressive, lifted florals light up the bouquet: violet, iris, blueberry, black cherry, dark plums, anise and spices. A blend of 95% malbec, 5% cabernet sauvignon, it displays a rich palette of fruit, spice and aromatic florals meshed beautifully together by sandpaper fine tannins.  Shows obvious, all round class and will reward further ageing. Drink: 2025-2035 14.5% 95pts

2021 Zuccardi Finca Las Cerrilladas Malbec, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina

Deep, dark purple. Engaging aromas replete in violet, black fruits, blueberry, sage, crushed wild herbs, aniseed, dusty cocoa, earth. Well-structured and complete with a marked intensity on the palate framed in fine tannins and finishing long. Intense aromatics of wild mountain herbs, thyme, marjoram mix with red plum, blue fruits, dark chocolate. Well weighted, medium bodied with a clean, cherry pip dry finish. A most elegant and impressively layered expression of malbec. Drink: 2025-2038 95pts

Angus Hughson
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