Nicola Catena planted his first Malbec vineyard in Mendoza in 1902. His grandson, Nicolás Catena, is known as the man who revolutionized Argentine wine and introduced high altitude Malbec to the world. The Historic Catena Zapata vineyards are planted with the Catena family’s proprietary selection of malbec plants: the Catena Cuttings. Catena Alta Malbec is sourced from Block 18 of the Angélica vineyard, Block 4 of the La Pirámide vineyard, Block 1 of the Nicasia vineyard, Block 6 of the Angélica Sur vineyard and Block 9 of the Adrianna vineyard.

The 2010 Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino is a blend of grapes from Adrianna and Nicasia, from the deepest, coolest soils in those vineyards, in Gualtallary and Altamira. They were looking for something that represents the essence of Malbec. The first vintage for this wine was 2004, when they finally found the blend and character they were looking for. The name they wanted to use for the wine was Malbec Puro, but they didn’t want any confusion with cigars, so they called it Malbec Argentino instead.

Weather: The 2010 Harvest is all about low quantity and high quality. If there was ever a year to show that low yields matter for quality, 2010 was it. The low yields were due to a cold spring that delayed bud break and some scattered frosts that led to uneven flowering in many areas. Perfectly ripe, healthy grapes with great concentration have characterized this vintage.

Vinification: 20% whole cluster and 80% whole berry fruit is hand-loaded into 225-500 liter new French oak barrels for a 100% barrel fermentation for a period of 30 - 32 days, allowing seamless oak integration. The fermentation temperature is kept low, extracting intense aromas, and the cap management is done by hand to ensure soft, gentle flavors and tannin extraction. Wild yeasts. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in barrel leaves considerable lees and sediment. The wine is aged in French oak barrels for 24 months. Adrianna Malbec component is co- fermented with Viognier and Nicasia Malbec component is co- fermented with Cabernet Franc.

Technical Information:
Grape: 100% Malbec
Vineyards: Adrianna & Nicasia
Winemaker: Alejandro Vigil
Alcohol: 14 %
Total Acidity: 6.3 grams/liter
pH: 3.6
Production: 11,400 Bottles
Unfined and unfiltered

Tasting Note: A blend of the dense mocha flavours from the Adrianna vineyard, and Nicasia’s graphite, woody profile. A brilliant match of pure blueberry fruit with lifted violets and a savoury nut complexity on the palate. The mouth filling freshness is wonderful, and simply unrivalled from this side of the equator.

The story of Bodega Catena Zapata is a tale that travels from 19th-century Italy to the limestone soils of Mendoza.

Nicola Catena, Nicolas Catena Zapata’s grandfather, sailed from Italy to Argentina in 1898, leaving behind his famine-stricken European homeland for a land of plenty and opportunity.

In 1902, he planted his first Malbec vineyard in Mendoza. Although Malbec had been a blending grape in Bordeaux, Nicola suspected it would find its hidden splendour in the Argentine Andes. It was a hunch that would not fully flower till nearly a century later.

Nowadays, it’s impossible to talk about Argentinean wine for more than a few minutes without someone mentioning either Nicolas Catena or one of his wines. No-one has done more to put Mendoza on the map, or to raise the profile of Malbec from Bordeaux reject to one of the world’s most fashionable grape varieties.

His journey to the top hasn’t been easy, however, and plenty of people were sceptical when Nicolas started planting Malbec at ever higher altitudes in the Andes. Eventually the results of his experiments spoke for themselves and others quickly followed in his footsteps. The family’s commitment to research and development continues apace with Nicolas’ daughter, Laura, now at the helm.

Laura, a biologist who graduated with honours from Harvard University, decided to instil in the winery team the method of research and study, what she calls “the science of understanding nature”. They created the Catena Institute of Wine, enabling the team to conduct research aimed at getting a better understanding of the Argentine terroir, the characteristics of Mendoza, and to study every aspect of their vineyards with the ultimate goal of making Argentine wines that can stand with the best of the world.