£12.99 mix 6, Majestic, £15, Ocado
I missed the boat with this wine as a recommendation for Malbec World Day last week, but at least it’s given me a chance to taste the 2022, which is already with one or two retailers, although the 2021 is more widely available.
What it is it about this Malbec of all Mendoza’s and Argentina’s Malbecs?
It's the high-altitude intensity and clarity of flavours, the violet and cherry aromas, the cool, crunchy black fruit, the herb, graphite and black olive notes and the silky but crisp tannins. It’s a wine that says much more about where it comes from than it does about winemaking.
The ‘where’ is selected plots in Zuccardi’s vineyards in Uco Valley's renowned subregions of Paraje Altamira and Los Chacayes, at 1,100m and 1,000m asl respectively, and the wine is fermented in concrete with native yeasts. It's then aged in a mix of concrete and used, 500-l, untoasted French oak barrels.
Q has a special place in the Zuccardi range because when it was launched in 1999 it was the first to bear the family name on the label and was called Q because when the Zuccardis started the project the best parcels from each vineyard were marked ‘Q’ – for quality.
It's a red wine you can drink on release or cellar for a decade (in fact, the concentrated 2022 still needs a bit more time) and you won’t be surprised to hear that it goes with steak – I had it with ribeye – but it also goes well with lamb, confit de canard, lentil dishes and with roast root vegetables seasoned with smoked paprika. 14%. Empty bottle weights: 2021, 685g; 2022, 701g.
Zuccardi Q Malbec 2021, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina
£12.99 mix 6, Majestic (£16.99 single); £15 on offer until 14.5.24, Ocado; £15.95, Harrisons Fine Wines. 2022 vintage: £19.99, Hay Wines