2023 Santa Julia Malbec El Burro Natural Mendoza 750 ml

The Zuccardi family has been a pillar of Mendoza winemaking since the 1950s. Their state-of-the-art facilities and vineyard portfolio are unrivaled in the region, and it shows in their world-class wines. As Wine Advocate wrote of Zuccardi Vinos, Santa Julia’s sister estate, “Zuccardi is clearly among the top wineries of the country—and improving each year.”

Under Julia Zuccardi, granddaughter of the family patriarch, their Santa Julia estate continues to innovate. Her expert team includes Ruben Ruffo, a 25-year veteran winemaker, and Edgardo Cónsoli, who manages the vineyards like they belong to a Bordeaux classified growth. 

Today, generations of experience, a well-built infrastructure, and a little help from the global economy have come together to yield some of the best value reds on the market. The craftsmanship, the pedigree of the sustainably farmed vineyards, and the commitment to quality that the Zuccardi name confers make this a must-buy and then some. 

The family’s Santa Julia label features some of the Zuccardi family’s most natural, closest-to-the-ground wines, and their 2023 El Burro Malbec is the perfect pop-anytime Malbec. Made with minimal human intervention—no sulfites added, fermented with natural yeasts, bottled unfiltered—it’s an excellent example of what the family has been doing so well for decades. 

For this bottling, Mendoza Malbec was organically farmed and entirely handpicked, two cost-intensive practices that would be impossible to find in a similarly affordable bottle elsewhere in the world. Fortunately for us, production costs are lower in Argentina, and it pays off big time in this bottle, which earned 92 points from James Suckling and 91 from Vinous. A no-brainer for the grill!