Familia Zuccardi, Finca Piedra Infinita, 2022
Familia Zuccardi, Finca Piedra Infinita, 2022
- 75cl
- 14.5%
- Red Still
- Malbec
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Optimal drinking window: 2026 - 2038
Est. delivery in Winter, 2027
Piedra Infinita is a true mountain wine. To plant the vineyard, the Zuccardi family literally had to shift over a thousand truckloads of stone, just the first step on a long and demanding journey. Farming here means knowing every row, every stone, and continually exploring the immense diversity of the site to interpret it faithfully through the wine.
This Malbec comes exclusively from the family’s estate, with grapes selected from the shallower soils that are so typical of the vineyard. Planted at 1,100 meters above sea level in the highest reaches of the Tunuyán River’s alluvial fan, the vineyard perfectly captures the identity of Paraje Altamira. Beneath the vines lies an almost endless bed of stones and massive granite rocks cloaked in calcareous material—a complexity that can only be found this close to the Andes.
Zuccardi’s story began in the 1960s, when Alberto “Tito” Zuccardi planted vines not to make wine but to demonstrate an irrigation system he had devised. From that practical start, the family has built one of the Southern Hemisphere’s most admired and terroir-driven projects. Today, under Sebastián Zuccardi, the focus is entirely on place—expressing altitude, soil, and climate with honesty and clarity.
As Sebastián puts it: “We are not seeking to make the world’s best wines, but the deepest and purest expression of our place.” These are wines that can stand alongside the finest anywhere, yet they also act as a lens into the stunning, brutal, and breathtaking landscapes of the Uco Valley.
What the critics say:
"The sheer pedigree of the 2022 Finca Piedra Infinita manages to overcome its youthful nature, yielding a wine that approaches the mesmerizing complexity of the duo of single-parcel bottlings from the same site. It slowly reveals itself with a coiled, contained nose of increasingly intense floral aromas and a red- and black-fruited core, followed by a taut, sculpted mouthfeel that oozes measured richness yet never veers from the finesse and restraint that have perennially defined Zuccardi's bottlings from this vineyard. Telegraphing its profound, detailed nature despite being somewhat introverted, the wine lingers with an incredibly long, morphing finish of powdery tannins, taut minerality and a vibrant spine of acidity while avoiding overt austerity. A beautiful follow-up to the amazing 2021 vintage, this iteration foregrounds the bones of the site rather than the comparatively fleshy nature of its predecessor, and it will demand additional time in the cellar before what should be the better part of two decades of drinking pleasure."
"Coming from five parcels of an 3,609-feet-elevation vineyard, the 2022 Malbec Finca Piedra Infinita offers “wow” levels of intensity and the highest level of precision, so much energy, acidity, and tension behind a wall of medium-bodied, salty fruit. The shallow alluvial soils of the Finca Piedra Infinita vineyard have a thick layer of calcareous material beneath the surface, and the wine shows this duality and will enjoy a great evolution over the next 20 years."
Finca Piedra Infinita sits in Paraje Altamira, one of the most prized sub-appellations in the Valle de Uco, at altitudes of around 1,050 to 1,100 metres. The soils here are the real story: ancient alluvial deposits laced with an extraordinary density of river stones and limestone, which drain freely, stress the vines productively, and lend the wine its distinctive mineral character. The diurnal temperature range at this altitude is extreme — hot days preserving fruit intensity, cold nights locking in acidity and freshness — which is precisely why these wines carry tension as well as power.
Paraje Altamira is a recognised Geographical Indication within the Valle de Uco, itself a subregion of Mendoza sitting in the shadow of the Andes. It is widely regarded as among the most exciting addresses for fine Malbec in all of Argentina, defined by its stony limestone soils and high altitude. Unlike the warmer, lower-altitude vineyards of Luján de Cuyo, Altamira produces wines with more structural definition and mineral grip — closer in spirit to a mountain wine than the broad, fruit-forward style that made Mendoza famous internationally.
The 2022 growing season in Mendoza delivered exactly what the region's winemakers pray for: a long, steady ripening period without the dramatic weather swings that can make or break a vintage. After a relatively cool summer, harvest stretched well into April for many producers, giving grapes the luxury of time to develop flavour whilst retaining the natural acidity that keeps Mendoza's reds from becoming jammy fruit bombs. We find this patience shows in the wines themselves, which carry more tension and less obvious power than some of the region's blockbuster years.
What emerged from the cellars feels like Mendoza at its most refined rather than its most muscular. The Malbecs show deep colour and concentrated dark fruit, but there's a freshness running through them that makes them approachable young whilst promising excellent ageing potential. Cabernet Sauvignon particularly shines, with structured tannins that feel polished rather than austere, and the high-altitude Chardonnays display crystalline precision. Most 2022s are drinking beautifully now and should develop gracefully until 2035, though the best Malbecs will reward patience well beyond that.
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