Zorzal, 2018 "Eggo Franco" Cabernet Franc, Gualtallary, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina
Cab Franc du Jour #68
Zorzal Wines was established in 2008 by the Michelini brothers, Gerardo, Matías, and Juan Pablo. The estate spans around 70 hectares in the Gualtallary sub-zone of Mendoza and, by Argentine standards, would be considered a boutique winery, producing approximately 300,000 bottles per year. Matías Michelini is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of this region, a champion of earlier picking to preserve freshness and acidity, and has been instrumental in a number of important projects across Gualtallary. His brother Juan Pablo heads up winemaking at Zorzal, assisted by Noelia Juri.
The Gualtallary Sub-Region
The Uco Valley in southern Mendoza divides into three sub-regions from north to south: Tupungato, Tunuyán, and San Carlos. Today’s wine comes from Tupungato, the largest of the three, with just over 10,000 hectares under vine, bordered to the south by the Las Tunas River and extending up to the boundary of Luján de Cuyo.
Within Tupungato, the sub-region of Gualtallary is arguably the most celebrated not only in Tupungato but across the entire Uco Valley, with approximately 2,250 hectares under vine. Gualtallary does not yet hold official GI status, though the process is underway, and such is the diversity of microclimates across the area that some producers are already proposing it be divided into as many as five separate GIs. Remarkably, given its current prestige, the first vines here were only planted in 1992, because for the longest time the region was considered too cool for viticulture.
The Vineyard
This wine is sourced from approximately 2 hectares of vines planted in 2007 by neighbouring growers at Tupungato Winelands, in the northwestern part of Gualtallary, one of the coolest areas within the sub-region. The vineyard sits at around 1,300m above sea level, with the primary cooling influence coming from altitude and the constant breezes descending from the Andes to the west.
The soils are alluvial in origin, composed of eroded Andean materials deposited here approximately one million years ago. At this particular site, the profile is predominantly sandy with a high proportion of large calcareous stones.
Zorzal themselves see considerable promise in Cabernet Franc, and Noelia shared that their first own planting of the variety came in 2016 with about 1.5 hectares, followed by a further 7 hectares planted in 2020.
In the Cellar
Zorzal was the first winery in Argentina to work with concrete eggs for vinification, a practice they began in 2011. The fruit is hand-picked and destemmed, with approximately 10% of stems added back into the fermenter. Fermentation takes place with indigenous yeast in concrete egg at around 24C, followed by a post-fermentation maceration of approximately 40 days. The conical shape of the egg creates a natural, gentle circulation of the must that eliminates the need for pump-overs or punchdowns, making it an inherently gentler form of maceration than conventional vessels allow. Once the wine is racked off its skins, it returns to concrete egg for approximately 10 months of aging before bottling.
Wine Details
Producer: Zorzal Wines
Region: Mendoza
Sub-Region: Uco Valley (Tupungato)
Sub-Region: Gualtallary
Vineyards: Tupungato Winelands
Soil: Alluvial origin. Sand-silt with large percentage of calcareous stones.
Alcohol: 14.5%