Familia Zuccardi Ballena del Sur Malbec 2025

Here's the Malbec you bring to the barbecue when you want everyone to say "wait, this Malbec isn't sweet at all."

It comes from Sebastian Zuccardi, who is kind of a big deal in Argentina, and Les Caves de Pyrene, who know how to pick them. This is their collaboration, and they made it with semi-carbonic maceration, which is a fancy way of saying they let the grapes ferment in a way that keeps things light and juicy. No oak here. Just pure fruit from the foot of the Andes.

Black fruits, a fresh herbal mint thing, bright and textured. It's softer than your average Malbec, easier to drink, the kind of red that doesn't ask for much.

Hopefully it will get warm soon. Hopefully barbecues will be back. And you'll bring this bottle to that party and someone will take a sip and say "oh, I actually like this" and you can nod knowingly and say yeah, that's the point.

Chill it slightly. Drink it with anything off the grill.