Zuccardi Finca los Membrillos

The 2014 and 2015 vintages were not produced, because they were difficult years for the grape, so I tasted the 2016 Finca Los Membrillos, a single-vineyard pure Cabernet Sauvignon that was last bottled in 2013. It comes from a vineyard planted with a massal selection of the grapes that they bought. In 2016, they did a selection of two kinds of soils (in this case, the shallower soils because of the cooler and wetter year), then this was fermented in concrete and matured in oak barrels. These Cab grapes were picked in between picking Malbec grapes, which is not like it was done in the past, when Cab grapes were kept for last, and if you left them too late, they dried out and became very tannic. I think this wine transcends the varietal; yes, there are some spicy and peppery notes and it's balsamic, but it's mostly stony/chalky. It has fine-grained, chalky tannins, typical of the variety and the Altamira soils. This is serious, balanced and has good aging potential in one of the finest (if not the finest) vintages. 3,400 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2017.

Cassis, spice and dark chocolate. A very serious effort, with substance and structure. Impressively dense and chewy on the finish. At the moment it comes across simply, but it has the fruit concentration to age well.