2023 Fosil Chardonnay
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
Full bottle 1,319 g. Chardonnay. Sebastián Zuccardi thinks Chardonnay expresses San Pablo best. Plant material taken from an old vineyard. Planted in 2012 at 1,400 m. Concrete not oak because there is so much light there’s no need to keep opening up the wines in the winery. So less microoxygenation. No malo. A greenish tinge. Clean, fresh and stimulating. Lime flavour. Hint of salt. Very long indeed. Impressive. (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Undergoing no malolactic fermentation, the gorgeous 2023 Chardonnay Fosil is fermented and aged in concrete. The acidity is wow-level, integrated into the whole with seamless ease, fresh and persistent. Light on its feet, it shows a deep conviction of place and minerality, its savory earthiness complemented by notes of green apple and pear. Zuccardi made his first version of this in 2016 at a time when Chardonnay in Argentina was overly oaky and underwent full malolactic fermentation. He soon fell in love with using concrete to ferment and age his whites grown at high altitude. Delightfully complex, structured, and textured, this is a beautiful representation of cool-climate, high-elevation grape growing and winemaking, with flecks of stone, flint, and lemon pith. Layered in waves of flavor, the acidity keeps it fresh and lively throughout a palate of undulating flavor and deliciousness. Drink now through 2033. A multi-generational winery and restaurant in the Valle de Uco under the guidance of winemaker Sebastian Zuccardi, these are mountain wines with a sense of place, expressive of the terroir of specific vineyards, parcels, soils, and altitude. In 2016, the winery was built after dividing vineyards by soil type, and it’s made entirely of concrete inside and out, with concrete vessels also used for fermentation and aging. Its highest-level wines are the Parcel Wines, made to show the uniqueness of a particular parcel of land within an estate vineyard.
The 2023 Fósil hails from two vineyards in San Pablo and was vinified entirely in concrete without malolactic fermentation. Opening with a pure, citrus-driven nose padded with an elegantly creamy richness, the palate balances a broad, textural breadth with a gently electric spine of acidity that carries through the herbal, lifted finish. While I found this a touch softer than the comparatively racy Botánico bottling, it remains a lovely expression of Uco Valley.
A tight, minerally and crunchy wine with a lemon and cut-apple character. Medium-bodied, very vertical and energetic. From the coldest appellation in Mendoza, and it shows in the tension and energy. Zingy. No malolactic. Drink or hold.
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.