2020 Nicolas Catena Zapata

Cassis, tobacco, wet stones, iron and baking spices to the nose, showing class, restraint and complexity. Medium- to full-bodied on the palate with super fine tannins. Dry, super elegant and silky with a lengthy, polished finish. Really Bordeaux-like. Juicy and long. 54% cabernet sauvignon from Gualtallary, 25% cabernet franc from Altamira and 21% malbec from both areas. The highest portion of cabernet franc this year helped retain its nervy freshness! This is classy and beautiful. Harvested on March 12th and 13th. Drink or hold. James Suckling 98 Points

Founded in 1902, Catena Zapata is Argentina’s oldest winery still in the founding family’s hands. The winery architecture is distinguished by its Mayan-inspired pyramid design. It is known for its pioneering role in resurrecting the Malbec grape and in discovering extreme high-altitude terroirs in the Andean foothills of Mendoza. Following in her father Nicolás Catena Zapata’s footsteps, fourth-generation vintner Dr. Laura Catena leads the winery and the revolutionary Catena Institute of Wine. The institute, founded by Dr. Catena in 1995, collaborates with local and foreign universities and has the ambitious mission of advancing Argentina’s winemaking regions for another 200 years. Its research is published in international journals and shared with the wider Argentine wine community. 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. The 2020 vintage The summer of 2019 started with warmer than usual temperatures and then cooled off in February. Decreased snow in the winter months resulted in water shortages which led to slightly lower yields. Winemakers can't remember an earlier harvest year. The cool climate areas at extreme high altitude yielded beautifully concentrated wines with intense aromatics and high acidity.