Familia Zuccardi, 'Finca Piedra Infinita' Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina, 2017

Overview of the Wine
A few years before 1950, Ing. Alberto Zuccardi reaches Mendoza from his homeland in Tucuman where their great-grandparents had settled upon arriving in the Italian region of AveIino. In 1963, Alberto implanted a vineyard in the region of Maipu not knowing that it would begin the great passion of his life, the wine industry. In 1990, his son, Jose Alberto Zuccardi, assumed the General Director of the company.

In 2005, Sebastian Zuccardi, third generation of the family, lead the development of the new stage of the wines of the winery expansion into the Uco Valley. On his initiative, since 2008 the winery has an area of Research and Development dedicated to the study of the terroir and the different variables that affect wine production. In 2013 the construction of the new Zuccardi winery in the Uco Valley began. It opened in March 2016 with the premise of producing wines with identity, through the continuous exploration of the different terroirs of the Uco Valley.

The Zuccardi family’s approach to sustainability starts with the environment and people before any product. They’re dedicated to producing the highest quality wines through sustainable practices such as a focus on nurturing biodiversity, organic farming, efficient irrigation practices, composting, water treatment, comprehensive waste and recycling efforts, and the use of solar energy. The winery itself is designed to be naturally energy efficient by maximizing natural light and minimizing electricity consumption. Its concrete walls fulfill the function of a thermal insulator, the movements of liquid are caused by gravity and the concrete-designed vessels allow for a natural control of the temperature of the wine. As a third generation family-owned winery, the Zuccardi’s take seriously their responsibility to protect the environment, support the land, the farmers and uplift the local community. Through building schools, offering free education, fostering equality, banning child labor, and subsidizing health care, they’re not only elevating their wines and the Uco Valley as a world class wine region, but also giving the people who have contributed to their success a path forward and upward mobility for their own families.

Natural and Organic.

Grape / Blend
Malbec

Origin
Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
Nuanced red fruits, mineral notes of wet stone and graphite and a very long finish. An age-worthy wine. Food pairing: Grilled and Roasted Red Meats. The best steak and chips your money can buy!

98 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
They use some specific soils for the 2017 Finca Piedra Infinita, up to eight different plots, but not all plots contribute to the wine every vintage; in general, the zones with 20 to 60 centimeters of soil and then large stones with calcium carbonate are reflected in the wines. So, they deconstruct the vineyard, and then they build the blend with the plots they like for each wine, up to eight here but only a specific one for the Supercal and Gravascal. There's a little more ripeness and exuberance here within the general austerity of the whole Piedra Infinita range, especially when compared with the 2018s. They harvested 15 to 20 days earlier than in 2018 (or in 2016) and they had to run, but the separation they have by soil helped them to harvest earlier the earlier-ripening parts of the vineyard. That gave them a great advantage and they produced very good 2017s, but the condition of the year, a shorter cycle and a more hurried year was what it was. This 2017 is not as long as the 2018, and there is a strong chalkiness in the finish. 7,300 bottles were filled in August 2018.

97 Points - James Suckling
This is very intense with blackberry and blueberry character, as well as hot stones and granite. Full body. Chewy tannins fan out across the palate. A serious, powerful wine. Needs at least four or five years to soften. Impressive.

Product size: 750ml