When it comes to Argentine wines that truly impress, Nicolás Catena Zapata is in a league of its own. Blending high-altitude elegance with Bordeaux-style precision, this wine is a go-to for collectors, enthusiasts, and anyone looking to pour something truly special.

Jamessuckling.com | JS 98
Published: Feb 24, 2022

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.

The Wine Advocate | RP 96
Published: Nov 30, 2022
Drink: 2025-2032

The 2019 Nicolás Catena Zapata was produced with 42% Cabernet Sauvignon from Gualtallary (Adrianna Vineyard), 30% Malbec from Altamira (Nicasia Vineyard) and a high percentage of Cabernet Franc (28%), also from Adrianna, which took the place of Cabernet Sauvignon. It fermented in small oak barrels, concrete and stainless steel tanks with a short post-fermentative maceration. Élevage was in first and second-use French oak barrels and lasted for 18 months, including malolactic. This is always quite classical in style, with some spiciness from the barrels and hints of smoke and toast, still very young and undeveloped. It has the traditional Bordeaux-blend character and is herbal, floral and spicy, with a beautiful texture, very nice balance and very fine, chalky tannins. 2019 was a very dry year, and the berries were small, very healthy and delivered powerful wines. It has 13.7% alcohol, mellow acidity and good freshness, reflecting a relatively cool season, and comes though as elegant, with the stuffing and balance to develop nicely over the years in bottle. 66,000 bottles were filled in January 2021.

Some of the vineyards from Catena are suffering from phylloxera, and parts of some vineyards have to be grubbed up and replanted.

Decanter | D 95
Published: Nov 5, 2022
Drink: 2022-2035

Deep, concentrated, bramble and blackcurrant fruit cut through by a racy breeziness of Christmas spices, forest floor and fresh herbs. So youthful, dense and luxurious with an impressive intensity and racy acidity, though at the moment the sweet vanilla oak is quite overt. Imposing tannins, lingering perfume and mouthwatering juiciness, this will age superbly.
Closure: Cork
Alcohol: 13.70%
Body: Full
Grapes: 28% Cabernet Franc 42% Cabernet Sauvignon 30% Malbec

Jancisrobinson.com | JR 16.5++
Published: May 12, 2023
Drink: 2025-2035

Glossy fruit with cherry and blackcurrant. Fine tannins, restrained fruit. Dense and powerful in the middle, there's a long road ahead of this wine before it reaches complexity.

Catenazapata.com

A LEGEND BECAUSE...
It was Nicolás Catena who thrust Argentinian wine into the modern era. A widely travelled academic economist, he learned from his exposure in the 1970s both to great Bordeaux and the huge promise of Napa wines. In the early 1980s, Catena agreed the key was to plant the right varieties in the right location, specifically cooler, higher sites..... Decanter Wine Legend

High-Altitude vineyards since 1902
Argentina's first Grand Vin
Oldest Argentine family winery still in family hands
Ungrafted vines
Massale selections of Malbec and Cabernet that no longer exist in Europe