2021 Bodega Catena Zapata Angelica Zapata Malbec Alta

95 pts
A benchmark high-altitude Malbec from Argentina’s most iconic estate.

Price:
Sale price$72.00
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In stock, ready to ship
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Description

Catena Zapata is the undisputed first family of Argentine wine. While Nicolás Catena is the man who put high-altitude Malbec on the world map, this "Alta" bottling is a tribute to the family matriarch, Angélica Zapata. It’s a serious, small-parcel blend sourced from their historic rows in the Lunlunta and San Carlos vineyards - vines that have been under the family's care for four generations.

The 2021 season was an excellent vintage, coming in slightly cooler than average. This gave the reds a rare combination of deep concentration and bright, optimal acidity without the heavy alcohol levels sometimes found in Mendoza. Winemaker Laura Catena employs a massive cold soak to pull out every bit of aromatic detail before a wild fermentation and up to two years in French oak.

It’s a textbook, first-class, high-altitude Malbec. It leads with intense layers of dark berries, chocolate, and a distinct toasted hazelnut note. There’s a supple, velvety texture to the mid-palate, but it’s reined in by a savoury, mineral-edged finish. It’s an elegant, broad-shouldered wine that’s drinking beautifully now but has the structural bones to evolve in the cellar for another twenty years.

95 points
"Fresh yet ripe nose with blackberries, chocolate mint, dark cherries, minerals and fine spices. Juicy, full-bodied and compact, with a flavourful centre palate loaded with fine, dusty tannins. Long and even, with rich but fresh fruit and cocoa powder at the end. Drink or hold."
- James Suckling

95 points - "Fresh yet ripe nose with blackberries, chocolate mint, dark cherries, minerals and fine spices. Juicy, full-bodied and compact, with a flavourful centre palate loaded with fine, dusty tannins. Long and even, with rich but fresh fruit and cocoa powder at the end. Drink or hold." - James Suckling

WINE DESCRIPTION

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 Lot 18 of the Angélica vineyard, Lot 4 of the La Pirámide vineyard, Lot 1 of the Nicasia vineyard, Lot 6 of the Angélica Sur vineyard and Lot 9 of the Adrianna vineyard.

VINIFICATION

Vineyard lots are harvested at different times to ensure optimal natural acidity and moderate alcohol levels. Whole berries are hand loaded into small format fermentation bins and 225-500 L barrels; lots from each vineyard are treated individually; fermentation and maceration last for 15-22 days; cold maceration. Wild yeasts. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in barrel; wine undergoes active battonage to protect it and drastically reduce the amount of SO2 needed. Aged for 12-18 months in French oak. First, second and third use barrels.

HISTORIC ROWS

Catena Alta is an assemblage of historic rows within the Catena family Estate vineyards. The blend of these historic rows, like the marriage of sounds that create a symphony, yields a highly aromatic and elegant wine that speaks for the earth and the vines that have been tended by the Catenas for four generations. The Catena Alta wines can usually be drunk starting at three years after harvest and into the following one to two decades.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Varietal: 100% Malbec

Alcohol: 13.70 %

Total Acidity: 6.1 grams/liter

pH: 3.5

Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type Red
Body Full Bodied
Variety Malbec
Country Argentina
Region Mendoza
Feature High Score
Reviewed By James Suckling
Critic Score 95
Size 750ml
Vintage 2021
Closure Cork

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