Zuccardi : Botanico Chardonnay 2023

An Argentinian white wine combining precision and complexity

The estate
Located in Mendoza, at the foot of the Andes mountain range, the family estate Zuccardi has become a benchmark for great Argentinian wines. The story begins in 1963, when Sebastián Zuccardi’s grandfather planted the first vines in Maipú. Since 2000, Sebastián has managed the 200 hectares of vineyards in the Uco Valley, producing wines that faithfully reflect the richness of its terroirs.

Visionary, he established a research unit in 2008 to improve viticultural practices, then inaugurated in 2016 an innovative winery equipped with unique tanks and amphorae designed to preserve the natural expression of the grapes. Regarded as one of South America’s finest winemakers, Sebastián Zuccardi crafts wines acclaimed by critics. The estate was named Best South American Winery in 2019 and 2020, and Best Winery in the World in 2020.

The vineyard
"Botanico" is a Mendoza wine sourced from plots in Gualtallary, in the Uco Valley, at an impressive altitude between 1,360 and 1,385 meters. This exceptional terroir is characterized by a temperate, arid climate typical of high-altitude deserts. The sandy, limestone soils, interspersed with layers of caliche and stones, give the wine its distinctive minerality. Surrounding vegetation, including jarilla grasses, thyme, shrubs and thorny bushes, contributes to the unique aromatic identity of this terroir.

Vinification and ageing
Vinification begins with a rigorous selection of the grapes, followed by a direct pressing that preserves the purity of the fruit. Fermentation takes place exclusively with indigenous yeasts in concrete tanks, allowing for ideal micro-oxygenation. The ageing of this wine from the Valle de Uco continues in the same vessels, without malolactic fermentation, in order to retain all the wine’s freshness and tension, as well as the authentic expression of the Gualtallary terroir.

Grape variety
This Botanico Chardonnay 2023 by Zuccardi is 100% Chardonnay.