2016 - Finca Piedra Infinita Paraje Altamira, Familia Zuccardi, Uco Valley

Bright, full ruby. Urgent crushed berry and licorice aromas are intensified by a strong chalkiness and an element of aromatic herbs. Boasts incredible density and depth of sappy black fruit and mineral flavors, with brilliant precision and energy, not to mention a powerful impression of site character. This absolutely compelling, electric Malbec also delivers wonderful plushness and its rising, palate-saturating finish boasts superb chalky thrust. This utterly unadorned wine, perhaps the finest bottling to date from Sebastián Zuccardi, should be long-lived. It was made from several components on this 35-hectare estate picked over a period of 10 to 12 days and vinified separately; Zuccardi added that the home estate around the winery actually took three weeks to harvest but that the lots from heavier riverbed soils went into the winery's lesser bottlings. (3.57 pH; fermented in concrete vats, then aged in concrete and used 500-liter barrels)