2021 Fosil Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
2021 seems like a very good vintage at Zuccardi, and they consider it a superb year for whites. The 2021 Fósil has lower alcohol (12.8%) and a sharper profile and is austere, young and subtle with a seamless palate with great freshness, balance and elegance. In this cooler year, they used more oak, because they feel that the wine needs more oxygen in cooler years and less in warmer ones. So, this 2019 fermented and matured equal parts in concrete and used 500-liter oak barrels for around eight months. But the wine shows no oak, and certainly no more than the 2020 I tasted next to it, but the two vintages show different profiles. This should develop nicely in bottle. 6,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2021.
Critic scores
Average Score
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Subtle and stony on the nose, which is presumably why it has this name. Not as austere in aroma as Chablis but heading in that direction. And much more fruity on the palate. Ripe lemon in a tight corset of freshness. Lots of intensity after the initial restraint, building on the palate to a crescendo and long finish. I think this needs another year in bottle. (JH)
The 2021 Chardonnay Fósil from San Pablo, Uco Valley was 30% aged in 500-liter barrels, the rest in concrete. Yellow in the glass. The nose offers notes of linden blossom, apple, country herbs and a hint of huacatay, a mountain herb. Dry in the mouth with a chalky feel and expansive freshness that brings nuance and depth; the flow is ethereal and saline while the finish lingers at leisure. The conditions that year really helped to dial up the quality, surpassing previous vintages. A complex, refined expression, tight like the best bands and continuing the austere spirit with which Fósil made its name.
Tangy and focused nose, effusing mineral allures, lime juice and green apples. Very bright and chalky palate, seeped with a waterfall of fresh acidity. Zingy, nimble and medium-bodied white with lots of purity and drive in the mouthwatering finish. Pure, focused and super delicious with a mineral finish. Irresistible now.
About the producer
Based in the Uco Valley, Zuccardi is one of Argentina’s leading producers. Family owned and run – today by third-generation Sebastián Zuccardi – the property crafts pure-fruited wines that speak of their mountainous Mendoza terroir.