2018 Santa Julia Reserva Mountain Blend Valle de Uco Mendoza 750 ml

We can only count a few times in our lives when the stars have aligned to produce a bargain like this. The 91-point Santa Julia Reserva may be the top under-$15 wine on the market today, with the integrity and class of a mountain-grown red three times the price. 

There’s no catch. We’ll explain how this is possible, but first we recommend locking in a case—or two—of this “clean and vibrant, juicy,” red. At $12 per bottle, it may be gone before you finish reading. 

The story of the “round and lush” Reserva begins with the Zuccardis, one of Mendoza’s first families of wine. Wine Access members know the Zuccardis’ vibrant and full-bodied, but most of all overachieving reds, very well. We’ve offered their 100-point Piedra Infinita, which goes for a third of the price of an equivalent Bordeaux, their 96-point under-$30 Concreto, and now today’s $12, 91-point Reserva. At every price tier Zuccardi wines have one thing in common: extraordinary value.  

The 2018 Mountain Blend was grown almost 3,000 feet above sea level in the most acclaimed subregion of Mendoza, the Uco Valley. Here, in the foothills of the Andes, Malbec and Cabernet Franc truly thrive. Blanketed in abundant sunshine and tempered by a cool climate, the grapes achieve a trifecta of richness, ripeness, and freshness that ranks among the world’s best. 

70% Malbec and 30% Cabernet Franc were organically farmed and entirely handpicked, two cost-intensive practices that would be impossible to find in a $12 bottle elsewhere in the world. Fortunately for us, production costs are lower in Argentina. 

Since the 1950s the Zuccardi family has pioneered winegrowing in Mendoza, building state-of-the-art facilities and establishing a vineyard portfolio and business model rivaled by few in the region. Julia Zuccardi, a granddaughter of the family patriarch, is the namesake and director of the estate. 

She’s hired Ruben Ruffo, a 25-year veteran winemaker to craft the wines, while Edgardo Cónsoli manages the sprawling vineyards like they belong to a Bordeaux classified growth. As Wine Advocate wrote of Zuccardi Vinos, Santa Julia’s sister estate, “Zuccardi is clearly among the top wineries of the country—and improving each year.”

Today, generations of experience, a well-built infrastructure, and a little help from the global economy have come together to yield what we believe to be one of the best $12 reds on the market. Compare this to anything remotely close in price and there’s simply no contest. 

The complexity—layers of bay leaf, violet, and espresso bean envelope blackberry compote—the craftsmanship, the pedigree of the sustainably farmed vineyards, and the commitment to quality that the Zuccardi name confers, make this a must buy and then some. For those who have made it this far, we sincerely hope this find is still around.