2014 Finca Piedra Infinita

Bright medium ruby. Superripe aromas of black cherry, cassis, strawberry and crushed stone, plus a hint of tobacco leaf. A juicy, lively midweight with lovely lift to its black raspberry, espresso, spice and stone flavors. This very intense but still-tight wine conveys an impression of firm, mineral-driven acidity. A bit more dusty and herbal than the Paraje Altamira and Gualta Tupungato Alto '14s; perhaps a tad sweeter than the Paraje Altamira but without quite the richness of the Gualta. The substantial but well-buffered tannins dust the front teeth.

3,000 bottles. Selection from a single vineyard. 30-60 cm of soil over stones, hence the name. Needs soil for balance in this wine. built from very specific parcels. Fermented in concrete, 70% aged in concrete and 30% in used 500-litre barrels. Black with purple rim. Complex aroma that is both fragrant and dusty. Herbs and reductive smoky darkness. Dry finesse but rounded and keeping the tension. Silky dry finish. Very long and super-precise and so mouth-wateringly drinkable. I want to sleep with this wine. Seductive, elegant, refined and perfect harmony. Cool and fragrant. Firm but the potential for slub silk. Endlessly long. The Zuccardi wines are gaining in finesse with every vintage, especially in the cool run of 2014-16.

They decided not to bottle Los Membrillos or Canal Uco in 2014, and the top of the range in that vintage remains only with the third edition of this Malbec from very stony soils in Altamira, the 2014 Finca Piedra Infinita. Within the Piedra Infinita vineyard they look for the soils that have some 30 to 50 centimeters of soil before getting to the limestone, so the ripening is more harmonious and the palate gains in volume and shows some meat before getting to the chalky, limestone tannins. It really improves with time in the glass and in this vintage it seems to combine elegance with length; there is more texture and, in fact, it feels built around texture and acidity. I think this is a real triumph over the natural conditions of the year. This is what the people who ask what comes after Malbec should get: expression of a place through the grape. Don't look for any smoky or toasty notes here. The effect of the oak is really imperceptible in the aromas. Bravo! 5,000 bottles produced.