2016 Nicolas Catena Zapata

The 2016 Nicolás Catena Zapata is a blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Malbec and 8% Cabernet Franc from Gualtallary and Paraje Altamira, Uco Valley. It was aged with painstaking precision and presents an alcohol content that reflects the cool year. Perhaps its best quality is the delicate nose of red fruit and floral aromas, which features blackcurrant, plum and lavender notes. Relaxed on the palate with thoroughly polished tannins and measured juice, the texture grows even silkier when the well-integrated freshness comes into play. A dusting of chalk makes a late entrance to coincide with the return of the fruity flavors. This is a layered, increasingly profound and nuanced wine.

- Joaquín Hidalgo (11/2021)

This a rich and flavorful red, showing blackcurrants and tobacco. Full-bodied, soft and fruity with bright and spicy, oyster-shell and fresh-herb character. Serious cabernet blend. Drink or hold. (02/2019)

The 2016 Nicolás Catena Zapata has not been released, and they are going to sell the 2017 before it. This is the one wine, together with the Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae Malbec, that is sold through the négoce in Bordeaux for Europe and Asia. This is backward, serious and austere, with terrific balance and great length. This is a blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon from Gualtallary and 31% Malbec from Nicasia. There is also some 8% Cabernet Franc that seems to add a touch, and in 2016, it didn't need irrigation because there was enough rain. This seems to follow the style of the 2013, a little tight, perhaps because of the Cabernets. This is nuanced and complex, with very good integration of the varieties and the oak, fruit, acidity and mineral texture. One of the best vintages for this bottling. 74,400 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2017.

- Luis Gutiérrez (10/2019)