Formed in 2011 as a partnership between two couples, Cara Sur is at the forefront of a movement in Argentina to revive ancestral vines and produce wines from traditional and lesser known Argentine varieties.

The two couples behind Cara Sur are Sebastián Zuccardi & Marcela Manini, and Nuria Año Gargiulo & Pancho Burgallo. Sebastian comes from a well known winemaking family and is among the leading lights in the industry. When Marcela and him decided to start their own personal project they teamed up with their close friends Nuria and Pancho, who owned a small vineyard and a tiny winery. While Sebastian may be the most famous of the quartet, this project is a true partnership amongst the closest of friends.

The winery is located next door to Nuria and Pancho's homes in Barreal, in the Calingasta Valley of San Juan, north of Mendoza. Here the couple farm an 80 year old vineyard of Moscatel, Moscatel Negro, Bonarda Piemontese, and Criolla Chica (the Argentine iteration of Pais) as well as bit of Malbec. The old vines are cared for using organic and biodynamic techniques and trained in the Tendone system where the grapes grow overhead in a thick canopy. This helps to protect the grapes from the intense southern sun and allows for air flow to help keep the grapes cool and disease free.

Sebastián and Marcela drive up from Mendoza regularly to help out in the vineyards and the cellar. Together they work the vineyard which sits alongside the Los Patos River on stony soil at 1500 meters above sea level. Barriel is a place that has garnered much interest in recent years as having tremendous potential. The stony soils, old vines, dry climate and intense diurnal shift help produce wine that is light and fresh yet redolent with exotic flavor and aromas, a far cry from the rich and heavy Malbecs the country is famous for.

Work in the winery is decidedly low intervention. But these are no rank amateurs. Sebastian's generational winemaking knowledge plays a role in producing wines that are natural yet never flawed, allowing the true flavor and aroma of each variety to shine through. In the tiny space they call a winery, they manage to stuff a plethora of fermenting and aging vessels including large Austrian barrels, demi-johns and concrete eggs. Each wine is a vivid and vibrant expression of this unique and underrated terror. No matter which one, there is always a crystalline quality that keeps you coming back for more.

The wines of Cara Sur are rustically elegant. What I mean by that is that they never try to tame a varietal’s more wild qualities but allow them to become focused through the prism of their terroir. They are like a perfect marriage of Alpine and Mediterranean wines with notes of freshly cut herbs, vibrant and high toned fruit, and electric minerality.

Professional Reviews