2024 Cabernet Franc 'Terroir Unico', Zorzal

“Volcanic Nerve”

This is Cabernet Franc stripped back to its essence, pure, vertical and humming with mountain energy. The 2024 opens in a flash of deep crimson with violet hues, then surges forward with cracked black pepper, red peppercorn, wild herbs and dark red berries, all delivered with striking aromatic clarity. There is nothing heavy here, nothing masked by oak, just fruit and place speaking plainly.

On the palate, it has real drive, tension, freshness and finely etched structure, with 15% whole clusters adding lift and spice. The texture is sleek and beautifully grained, with acidity giving a juicy, almost electric quality to the fruit. A subtle mineral thread runs beneath it all, leading to a long, saline-edged finish that feels distinctly Gualtallary. Austere in the best sense, precise without being severe, a Cabernet Franc that feels modern, honest and quietly compelling.

For when you want a red with freshness, structure and real personality.
Pairs with grilled lamb, charred vegetables, chimichurri, or anything kissed by flame.
If this wine were a landscape, it would be high-altitude vineyards beneath a vast blue sky, dramatic, pure and alive.

Producer
Zorzal, founded by the Michelini brothers in 2008, sits at 1,350 metres above sea level in Gualtallary, at the foot of the Tupungato Volcano, one of Argentina’s most revered high-altitude sites. The Terroir Único range is built on a simple philosophy, “The expression is our land.” Grapes are harvested from different parcels across their estate to capture the diversity of calcium-rich, rocky soils. Fermented with native yeasts in concrete and stainless steel, with no oak ageing, the focus is on transparency rather than embellishment. This Cabernet Franc, drawn from French and Italian clones planted on their own farm, marks a milestone for the estate, a bold, minimal-intervention statement wine that showcases the future-facing precision of modern Argentine winemaking.