Familia Zuccardi Q Malbec 2015

Fruit from Vista Flores and Altamira. All in concrete, 30% aged in old barrels. 40% whole bunch. Carbonic maceration shows winemaking not terroir so he crushes bunches quickly. One layer then foot trodden or, if no time for that, they destem and then add stems in during fermentation. Stems are green. If you lignify stems in the vineyard you cook the grapes. Malbec can lack backbone so can be too sweet and stems can help to build the backbone. Could be more difficult in a warmer vintage. 2014-2016 all cool and wet but 2015 was better than 2014 and 2016 better than 2015.Darker fruit than the Serie A Malbec, more cassis. Very pure and dark fruited. Savoury, mineral, smoky/rocky but still with lovely non-sweet fruit. Just a hint of pepper and graphite. Chalky freshness in the texture, sappy and juicy but with the dry texture to add sophistication. Bone-dry finish, all that graphite but not at all leafy. Reductive winemaking helps develop complexity, believes Sebastian Zuccardi. Really dark and not fruity in flavour but there's fruit there for substance and harmony. Chalky chew on the finish and leaves the mouth feeling clean. Supreme precision and finesse. GV (JH) Julia Harding MW