2018 Zuccardi Q Malbec Valle De Uco Argentina 750 ml

It just doesn’t add up.

Sebastián Zuccardi is one of the most exciting free thinkers in South America’s wine world, and his ambitious terroir-transparent wines from the Uco Valley have earned international renown. His estate won #1 Best Vineyard in the World last year, and our latest, highly coveted allocation was only further validation of why the critics are so giddy. 

So we find ourselves scratching our heads, asking how Zuccardi can keep putting out wines like today’s satisfyingly plush and seductive 2018 Zuccardi Q Malbec—one that James Suckling praised with 93 points and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate elevated with 92+ points—at this price. The Advocate is thoroughly dazzled by Zuccardi, having mused on how bottles “at this price can have such precision and purity.” 

We don’t recommend you think too hard about it. Instead, grab a case and spend the next year or two reveling in this insane value. It’s a revelation of Malbec purity that boasts juicy blackberry fruit seasoned with notes of violets, cola, and powdery licorice, all carried with a nerve that will fascinate to the last sip. 

Our best guess at Zuccardi’s incredible value proposition is that the family has made enormous investments in the land over generations, and huge demand for its top-line offerings subsidize bottles like this one, which follows much of the same script as the $150 bottles at an incredibly accessible price point. It’s a rare combination of factors that results in a world-class Malbec you simply can’t ignore.

Sebastián ferments and ages this stunning Malbec in rounded tanks of local Mendoza concrete to summon the clean, powerful, stony depths of the land—a dimension he’s so keen to express that he’s been known to hand rocks to visitors and invite them to touch their tongue to the surface. We’ve taken part in this experiment ourselves, and can attest that this bargain release reflects the alluvium soil with mesmerizing accuracy.

Sebastián is at the forefront of a renegade crew who have been called “cement heads“ for eschewing new oak in pursuit of fresher, more site-specific wines to convey the region’s mineral-rich Andean terroir. Those efforts have earned Zuccardi plaudits as “clearly among the top wineries of the country—and improving each year,” according to Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.

Any visitor to Zuccardi’s outpost 3,600 feet above sea level is immediately struck by the Andes mountains, towering over the vineyards in startlingly near distance. It’s hard to imagine a more spectacularly dramatic wine country backdrop. It’s from these breathtakingly high-altitude sites that the 2018 Q Malbec is assembled, with fruit hailing from Paraje Altamira at 3,608 feet in elevation, the surface dotted with whitish rocks, and Vista Flores, at 3,215 feet, distinguished by its clay.

A mix of the aforementioned concrete tanks and oak barrels shape the bold purity of the fruit into an elegant silhouette. We recommend stocking up while you can.