Robertparker.com | 100/100 RP | 2023 - 2035. I'm splitting hairs here, because the level is so high in the Malbecs from the Piedra Infinita vineyard that it's difficult to say, but the coup de coeur is the 2019 Finca Piedra Infinita Supercal, the single-plot bottling from the shallower soils with lots of rocks covered in calcium carbonate (hence the name: "superlime"). In a cooler year like 2019, this wine achieved a level of precision, austerity, elegance and balance that is amazing. The wine floats in the mouth, with an ethereal quality but with the clout and power from the place. The wine is juicy and fresh with a saline twist in the finish. This is approachable now because of its gobsmacking balance and elegance, but it has all the components and the balance between them to age for a long time in bottle. Bravo! 1,400 bottles were filled in June 2020. They told me that it's always a challenge to decide the picking date for this plot, and they feel they hit the bull's eye in 2019. And rightly so. The Zuccardi family has eight vineyards in the Valle de Uco; they are planting 35 hectares of white in San Pablo, one of the best places for whites for them, and they keep buying more land and vineyards there, working mostly organically, but they have to find a solution for the ants. So, there's no certification in any of the wines there; it's on the way—no herbicides or any systemic treatments—but right now they cannot certify the vineyard. They have around 300 hectares of vines planted in smaller (40- to 50-hectare) vineyards and produce 1.7 million bottles. But they focus on vineyard work in Altamira, San Pablo and Gualtallary. They are gradually abandoning the 500-liter barrels and moving more to large oak foudres of 2,500 and 5,000 liters. Polígonos are village wines, Aluvional are lieu-dit (paraje) wines, and then there are the single vineyard wines—and even sub plots! For Sebastián Zuccardi, 2019 and 2022 have been excellent and cooler years (2019 the best), 2018 and 2021 are classical (not too warm and not too cold, close to 2022) and 2020 and 2017 warm years. 2016 was exceptionally cold and rainy. The wines are phenomenal, the work they do is impressive, and they are at the very top of the pyramid of the quality producers from Argentina. The level of precision here is amazing; they might very well be the finest producer in Argentina at the moment. The Malbecs from Piedra Infinita are very transparent with the condition of the year and the soils, and tasting them together is fascinating. They started working more seriously on their whites around 2013, and this time, they presented three more whites—one Semillon and two Chardonnays. They consider 2021 a very good year for them and superb for whites, when they have produced some of their best whites to date. Published: Nov 30, 2022
Land: Argentinië
Jaartal: 2019
Regio: Mendoza
Appelatie / Herkomst: Valle de Uco
Druivenras: Malbec
Serveertemperatuur: 16-18°C
