Zuccardi, 2017 Polígonos de Valle de Uco, San Pablo, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina
Cab Franc du Jour #53
Sebastián Zuccardi is the third generation of his family to continue the legacy of grape growing and winemaking in Mendoza. His grandfather established their first vineyards in Maipú in 1963, and today Sebastián is recognized as one of the leading winemakers of his generation, deeply committed to and endlessly curious about the terroirs of the Uco Valley.
The Uco Valley
The Uco Valley sits in the southwestern part of Mendoza, tucked up against the Andes. The climate is continental and quite dry, with altitude serving as the primary moderating factor, ranging from around 850 to nearly 1,990m above sea level across the valley. Three sub-regions divide the Uco Valley: Tupungato in the north, Tunuyán in the centre, and San Carlos in the south. Today’s wine comes from the San Pablo GI within the Tunuyán sub-region, which is bounded to the north by the Las Tunas River and to the south by the Tunuyán River.
San Pablo
The San Pablo GI is a relatively small and recently formalised sub-appellation, established in 2019, though it is actually the first area in the Tunuyán region to have been planted to vines, with Jesuit missionaries settling and farming here as far back as the 17th century. There are only 510 hectares of vines in San Pablo, a modest figure set against the Uco Valley’s total of over 28,000 hectares. Like several of the more recently formalized GIs in Argentina, San Pablo’s borders were drawn on the basis of terroir characteristics rather than political boundaries. Elevations range from 1,100 to 1,500m above sea level, with the lower-lying areas running somewhat warmer and the higher-altitude zones experiencing a notably cooler microclimate and double the rainfall typical of the broader Uco Valley.
The Vineyard
The Polígonos San Pablo Cabernet Franc, Finca Las Cuchillas, situated in one of the higher-elevation zones of San Pablo at around 1,400m above sea level. The vineyard as a whole covers approximately 40 hectares, of which 4.2 hectares are planted with Cabernet Franc, all established in 2013. Sebastián selects a top portion of roughly half that planting for this wine, with the remainder going into the Zuccardi Q Cabernet Franc.
The Cabernet Franc is planted across two separate areas within the vineyard, an intentional choice to observe how the variety performs in different parts of the site and to capture different expressions of the grape. The soils are ancient alluvial deposits formed approximately one million years ago. The topsoil is a sandy loam ranging in depth from around 0.5 to 1.3m, with a very stony subsoil composed of larger granite stones coated in a layer of calcium carbonate.
In the Cellar
Fermentation takes place with indigenous yeast in epoxy-free concrete tanks designed and built by the estate to resemble amphorae. Maceration runs approximately 15 days, with pigéage during the active fermentation to manage the cap. Aging then follows for 12 months in used 2,500L oak foudres.
Wine Details
Producer: Zuccardi
Region: Mendoza
Region: Uco Valley (Tunuyán)
Appellation: San Pablo IG
Altitude: 1400m a.s.l.
Vineyard: Finca Las Cuchillas
Soil: Sandy-loam, over larger river stones that are composed of granite surrounded by a thick layer of calcium carbonate
Alcohol: 14.3%