2019 Nicolas Catena Zapata

This has a complex nose of baked blackberries, grilled plums, dried earth, moss, pine cones, sandalwood, charcoal and cloves. It’s medium-bodied with firm, tightly knit tannins. Wow. So much going on. Layered, seamless and silky. Incredible length. Keeps going. 42% cabernet sauvignon, 30% malbec and 28% cabernet franc. Try this from 2024. (James Suckling)

With its inaugural 1997 vintage, Nicolás Catena Zapata became the first luxury cuvée from Argentina to be exported around the world. The wine recreates the “Original Bordeaux Blend” of the 18th and 19th Centuries, when Malbec dominated over Merlot and was in equal standing to Cabernet Sauvignon in the Médoc. Prephylloxeric Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon massale selections of ungrafted vines give rise to this wine, opening a window to the past from the mountain vineyards of Mendoza, Argentina.

CLIMATE CONDITIONS
“El Año Mendocino,” the Mendoza Year we call it. After a small cool vintage 2017, which we call “El Año Bordelés” (the Bordeaux Year) and a small, very cool and rainy year in 2016 “El Año Bourguignon” (the Burgundian year), we finally got a vintage that is classically Mendozan: dry, cool, sunny and with moderate yields in every region from the lowest to the highest altitudes. The summer of 2017 started out warm but then cooled off during the 2018 harvest months of February, March and April. This, in addition to the lower rainfall, gave rise to optimal balance in the fruit, with beautiful natural acidity, regional aromatic expression and smooth tannins.

WINEMAKING
The harvest is done by hand, and some parcels are fermented as whole bunches to enhance tannic structure and freshness. The fermentation takes place in 500 liter oak barrels, concrete and stainless-steel tanks, at temperatures of 26-28ºC for about 10-15 days. The post-fermentative maceration lasts between 5 and 10 days.
The wine carries out its malolactic fermentation and is then aged in French oak barrels for 18 months.