2019 Zuccardi Torrontés Serie A Salta Argentina

If Sebastián Zuccardi wore each of his accolades as a medal, he’d have back problems. He’s an Argentine Midas with a mile-long list of praises, including 99- and 100-point wines and back-to-back “World’s Best Vineyard” honors. But when we tasted his Serie A Torrontés, we nearly forgot about all of that, because this wine commanded the room with its crisp and exhilarating character.

Torrontés is a rare, adventurous white grape—grown almost exclusively in Argentina—that combines the aromatic complexity of Riesling and the bone-dry palate of Sauvignon Blanc. Zuccardi’s version is energetic and textured, its white flowers, freshly-cut pineapple, and sage aromas are as dramatic and striking as its mountain home. On the palate, it’s dry and medium-bodied but exquisitely refreshing with tropical fruit and cleansing acidity on a finish that lingers until the wine compels you toward another sip. 

Usually, a résumé with over 80 95-or-higher scores, Decanter Top 10 South American Winemakers honors, and praise from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate as “clearly among the top wineries of the country,” will send a winery’s prices skyward. Especially for a rare find like this.

Sebastián is a terroir Renaissance man. As he put it to us, “the most important thing is the place, because if you don’t have potential in the place, it’s not possible to make a great wine.” Consequently, he’s incredibly selective of his vineyards, and for Torrontés, there’s no better place than Cafayate, one of Wine Enthusiast’s Best Wine Destinations and the region winemaking legend Michel Rolland chose for his Argentine ventures. 

This mountainous region is home to some of the world’s highest and most extreme vineyards—and it’s an absolute Eden for Torrontés. Argentina’s definitive white grape thrives in Cafayate’s high altitudes, alongside soaring Andean peaks. Sebastián pulls his grapes from nearly 6,000 feet above sea level, an elevation whose shield-your-eyes sunlight brings tropical richness, while protecting grapes from equatorial heat, preserving vibrant acidity and floral aromatics.  

Zuccardi boasts the prestige of a world-renowned superstar, but the hands-on approach of a boutique, crafting each wine, whether $15 or $150, with painstaking care. He’s at the forefront of a renegade crew who have been called the “cement heads,” and he wears that as a badge of honor, because his devotion to concrete reflects his devotion to terroir-transparent wine.

“In the winery,” he told us. “We have to be very respectful of the work we did in the vineyard.” For him, this means eschewing new oak in favor of cement in order to produce cleaner, fresher, more site-specific wines. Without the distraction of oak, Sebastián empowers the wine to convey the region’s succulent richness and complexity with crystalline precision.

In this Torrontés, that philosophy comes through loud and clear, delivering a clean and pure white wine that will whisk you away to a gorgeous Argentine mountainside.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Sweetness
• Acidity

• ABV 14.00%
• Enjoy right away
• Drink Up
• % Torrontes
• Serving temperature – 48°
• Screw cap