2019 Aluvional Paraje Altamira Malbec
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2019 Aluvional Paraje Altamira comes from the south of Altamira or "new Altamira" (Altamira is not yet divided, but they have ideas...), and they used 80% to 100% full clusters and stems—one of the highest, because there's a lot of limestone. But this wine is always foot trodden because they want to avoid carbonic maceration, or sometimes they destem the grapes and add the stems back in a kind of lasagna, with layers. It matured exclusively in their raw concrete vats. The wine is serious, with an austere nose and some serious fruit (it's slightly lower in alcohol than the other two). It's very chalky and has very fine tannins and a texture that can be reminiscent of a Barolo, with some flowers emerging after some time in the glass. 8,200 bottles were filled in June 2020.
Critic scores
Average Score
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2019 Malbec Aluvional Paraje Altamira from the Uco Valley changed its label this year and was a third aged in foudres . Purple in the glass. The vividly bold aromatic profile offers notes of thyme and violet over sweet and sour cherry. Creamy in feel initially, it grows more compact as the flow gains in vigor, delivering juicy intensity and a chalky sensation that eventually takes over. Will improve in the bottle. The 2019 is a wine that reveals how comfortable its maker is in Paraje Altamira.
About the producer
Based in the Uco Valley, Zuccardi is one of Argentina’s leading producers. Family owned and run – today by third-generation Sebastián Zuccardi – the property crafts pure-fruited wines that speak of their mountainous Mendoza terroir.