José Zuccardi Malbec

This has bramble fruit, asphalt and graphite, with a subtle touch of tar in the background. The palate is medium- to full-bodied with tension, timid fruit and fine-grained tannins. Drink or hold.

A full-bodied and expressive malbec with 5% cabernet sauvignon. Minerals, black cherries and cool blue fruit. A touch of cocoa powder, but there is nothing plush. Concentrated but austere, with tons of juicy fruit and dusty tannins treading into a long, bright finish. Fermented in concrete and aged 24 months in foudres. Drink or hold.

There's a lovely floral thyme and roasted plum note to the polished graphite- and berry-laced core that shows twinges of licorice, orange peel and peppercorn as it works its way to the lengthy finish around well-integrated tannins. Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2035. 10,000 cases made, 6,000 cases imported.