2020 Zuccardi - Malbec Poligonos Gualtallary (750ml)

Zuccardi is a family winery whose story began around 1950, when Alberto Zuccardi arrived in Mendoza and, in 1963, planted a vineyard in Maipú that grew into a lifelong pursuit. His son, José Alberto, took over as director in 1990, and by 2005 third-generation winemaker Sebastián Zuccardi was leading the family's expansion into the Uco Valley, driven by a deep interest in terroir research that began in earnest a few years later. That work culminated in a dedicated winery built in the Uco Valley, opened in 2016, aimed at capturing the identity of each of the region's distinct microclimates.

Polígonos is part of that terroir project, with this bottling sourced from vineyards in Gualtallary at roughly 1,300 meters above sea level, where alluvial soil is layered with gravel, caliche, and calcareous sand. The wine ferments and ages in concrete vats using indigenous yeast, undergoing about twenty days of maceration before further aging in a combination of concrete and large-format oak barrels, a method chosen to let the site's mineral character take center stage.

In the glass this Malbec shows a purple-ruby hue with a dark core, opening into layered aromas of black plum, dried violet, cinnamon, and sandalwood. The palate turns fleshy and full, with cassis and strawberry preserve set against a backbone of chalky minerality and lively acidity. Pair it with braised lamb shank, wild boar ragu, or aged pecorino.