Familia Zuccardi Poligonos Malbec Gualtallary 2019

The 2019 Polígonos Gualtallary Malbec used to be called Tupungato Alto, but it now lists Gualtallary on the label. It's the most structured of the Malbecs in the Polígonos range, a wine that is wild and fresh. After the Altamira, the citrus notes are back, but they're different from San Pablo; this is more herbal (dry herbs), with thyme and rockrose. All the range fermented and aged in concrete, trying to be faithful to the origin. This is simply superb and incredible for the price. 19,000 bottles were filled in August 2020.

Sebastián Zuccardi uses no oak and no cultured yeasts to make this wine, a stunningly fresh, zesty malbec. Sourced from a vineyard at 3,600 feet in altitude, where there’s plenty of calcareous stone in the alluvial scree, it feels almost Burgundian in its combination of complexity and transparency. Give it a decant before you serve it, as it takes time for the wine to shake off its initial tension; then it blossoms, with notes of fir tree, stone and fresh-picked berries.