Zorzal - Terroir Unico Malbec 2024
Price: $21.99
Mendoza is a massive region, every time I travel there I’m always struck by the sheer scale of the place. The province is over 57,000 square miles, that’s considerably bigger than North Carolina! It’s a high-desert with only 6-8 inches of rainfall per year, and even the low-lands are about 3000 ft in elevation. The Andes Mountains with peaks over 20,000 ft tower over the region to the west, and it’s the meltwater from these that is used to irrigate the vineyards. Without the hard work of the indigenous Huarpe population digging irrigational canals centuries ago pretty much nothing would grow here. The desert is hot, really hot, the low-lands where the bulk of Malbec comes from get very little break from the heat. For the great stuff you have to go to the mountains! It’s here in the foothills of the Andes, in sub-regions like La Consulta, Vista Flores, and Gualtallary that the serious wines are produced.
Zorzal’s Terroir Unico Malbec comes from a single vineyard planted at 1,350 meters in Gualtallary of the Uco Valley. The diurnal effect at this height is important, good swings between the hot days and cooler nights produces grapes with thicker skins, more even ripeness and better acidity. The unique blend of sand, stones, and granitic limestone in the soils gives great minerality. Its no wonder that top wineries like Catena Zapata and Familia Zuccardi now produce some of their highest rated and priciest wines here.
Grapes for this wine are picked at three different stages of ripeness then fermented with native yeasts and vinified in tanks - all to capture the unique terroir of the region. It bursts from the glass with bright aromas of plums and violets, leading to racy flavors of the same and just enough of a tannic lick to make the finish long and satisfying. Bring on the carne asada, throw some burgers on the grill. Now this is why we all love Malbec!
“Winemaker Juan Pablo Michelini considers the 2019 vintage to be one of the best he has ever worked with—and you can sense that in the purity of the fruit, the great expression of a mountain malbec rich in herbs and violets. The grapes for this wine come from different producers throughout Gualtallary, and the idea behind it is precisely to show the area through a wine. And what it shows is a very good photo of Gualtallary, especially in its sharp chalky tannins and the freshness of a red born at the foot of the Andes.” Descorchados
James Suckling: 93 Points
"Dark fruit with dark olives as well as thyme. The palate is medium- to full-bodied, showing a chiseled thread of fruit, polished tannins and a clean finish. Drink now."
Vinous Media: 92 Points
"The 2024 Malbec Terroir Unico has a fruity, floral profile with soft notes of violet, lavender, cherry, wild herbs and blood orange. Attractive and delicate, it offers juicy flow, gentle tannins, agile structure and a touch of chalk. This is a crunchy-harvest Malbec with pristine, primary flavor. The 2024 is very expressive and very Gualtallary."-
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