The aromas and flavors of this wine are abundant and complex. Pleasurable black fruits and notes of baking spice and chocolate accompany light smoke. Bold with round, ripe, suave tannins and juicy acidity, this is medium bodied but stays lip smacking with its juiciness. Secondary flavors of licorice, black cherry, chocolate, lead, blueberry and a touch of black pepper. The Zorzal Malbec is well-integrated and extremely enjoyable.  

WINE INFORMATION

Zorzal is a young, boutique winery that was founded in 2007 by the Michelini brothers, Gerardo, Matias, and Juan Pablo (“Juampi”). They completed their first vintage in 2008. The winery and vineyards are located in a section of the Uco Valley called Gualtallary (“Gualta”), outside the town of Tupungato, at approximately 4,500 feet above sea level where average temperatures are colder due to the altitude and its location at the foot of the Andes.  The Zorzal winery is the highest winery in Mendoza. The estate consists of 70 hectares on a unique blend of sand, stones, and limestone and is planted to multiple varieties including Malbec, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and a few others. The grapes are all hand harvested and Juampi’s vision is to have a light hand in the winemaking to let the fruit and terroir shine. The winery practices organic methods in the vineyards and uses only indigenous yeast in the winemaking process.

The grapes for this wine come from tall, 7-year old espalier-trained vines. The soil is a mixture of stones and sand, in a very chalky zone. The hand-harvested Malbec grapes are picked at three different stages of maturity to ensure a balance wine with fruit concentration and acidity. Cold maceration is carried out for 15 days to intensify the fresh fruit and the grapes from each picking are fermented separately with indigenous yeasts at a maximum of 28°C in concrete vats. Once fermentation is finished, the final blend is decided.

Grilled preparations, Hearty stew, Lamb, Mushrooms, Red Meat, Slow-smoked Barbeque/BBQ Sauce, Wild Game