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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.5 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 112 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by bordeaux4wino on 11/8/2023 & rated 90 points: Been cleaning out the cellar and this was a bit of a gem. Very impressed for what it was. The color was still deep garnet and the wine did throw some sediment. The nose was actually quite complex with notes of dried black plum, pomegranate and dark chocolate. The palate was impressively rich with good intensity left in this one. Notes of dark cherry, plum and dried fruits along with a kernel notes and a touch of earth. The tannin was medium at this point, but quite plush and with medium+ body and warming alcohol. Acidity still quite fresh though to balance out. Medium finish on this, but couldn't ask more from a wine I bought quite a while ago for around $20. (173 views) | | | Tasted by WineGuyX on 8/15/2022 & rated 90 points: Not terribly aromatic, some charred wood, cedar and tobacco. Black fruits and a hint of dill. The palate is showing a lot of age with stewed black cherries, herbal shadings and Charred wood. Really showing a lot of age and a bit unbalanced. Drink now. 90
Tatiana says 90 (695 views) | | | Tasted by biggie on 1/7/2022 & rated 93 points: Leaf Day - poured blood red into decanter. Decanted off a couple of tablespoons of sediment. In the glass it has a dense dark garnet core extending almost to the rim which is garnet tinged with mahogany. Nose shows damp earth, dark fruit, leather, and dried leaves. In the mouth it’s very smooth with fully resolved (but still apparent) tannins, bright acidity keeping it fresh and with flavours of both red and black fruit, cooking herbs (rosemary, bay and sage), new leather and spice. It’s very youthful and fresh. At it’s peak but could easily go another 5 years. Great way to end a week. (879 views) | | | Tasted by iamandyc on 5/17/2020 & rated 88 points: Think this may be past its peak as the acid is out of balance with the fruit. Still has some nice fruit but the finish was a bit too tangy. Best with food. Meh. (1503 views) | | | Tasted by NoTrollingerPlease on 9/18/2019 & rated 89 points: Glass: Riedel Vinum Syrah
Popped and poured, drunk over 2 days.
Clean, deep garnet color with tawny reflexes. Clean, medium+ fully developed nose. Tobacco, spices, leather, plum, butter and a touch of lovage. Nice, maybe a bit past peak already.
On the palate dry, but with a noticeable sweetness coming from the high 14% abv. Medium acidity, medium tannin. Very creamy, almost oily mouthfeel. Very lactic, lots of black pepper, spices, dark fruits (plum). Balanced, but also bold and massive body, medium+ finish. Drink up, already a bit past peak. 89-90 (1719 views) | | | Tasted by HappyWineGuy on 1/19/2017 & rated 87 points: This may be a little older than is recommended, the fruit was big, bold and fleshy, lots of eucalyptus on the nose and palate. Because of its age the tannins were soft and the alcohol subdued. (3022 views) | | | Tasted by Wine Poor on 5/22/2016: Opened this at a dinner party and it was so well received that I didn't get any. (2939 views) | | | Tasted by Uncle John on 9/28/2015 & rated 90 points: This bottle showed lots of new oak and dark fruit. (3268 views) | | | Tasted by Life At Your Leisure 🍷 on 2/8/2015 & rated 94 points: Opaque purple color turning violet at the rim with a dense, but perfumed nose of ripe dark berries, flowers, incense, and vanilla. The palate is full-bodied, dense, but angular, mouth-coating, supple with a velvety texture. Flavors of black currant, cassis, plum, dark chocolate, cinnamon, espresso, and vanilla-emitting-embers rounding up the mid palate in a layered, delicate balance. Finishes medium-to-long on silky, elegant tannins with a tinge of citrus and black pepper. This is a beautifully-made Malbec. Very sumptuous and delectable at this point. Really makes a statement. Drink now until 2021. (3311 views) | | | Tasted by hitechnomad on 10/10/2014 & rated 92 points: powerful flavour and medium long finish. drinking very nicely now. I would say drink up over the next year or so. (3550 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 7/7/2014 & rated 90 points: Weekly tasting group #125; A mixed set of wines (@ SB): Intense and concentrated bouquet with ripe dark fruits. On the palate juicy cherries and dark forest fruits, herbs and spices, chocolate. Good balance between sweetness and acidity. Round tannin with a nice bite. The wine is ready now, but no hurry. (2915 views) | | | Tasted by Marcyrillo on 6/10/2014: This particular bottle was not good as expected... (2066 views) | | | Tasted by mouton45 on 4/26/2014 & rated 91 points: Went great with frilled ribeyes, broccoli and sweet potato fries. (2370 views) | | | Tasted by Wine Poor on 11/23/2013 & rated 89 points: Very dark almost black. Went nice with grilled rib eyes. Questionable QPR though. (2601 views) | | | Tasted by jkscully on 11/16/2013: This wine was polished, but one dimensional. The oak is apparent and gives a strong vanilla, chocolate, mocha, coffee flavor and finish. The fruit is purple and blueberry. All of these flavors come together very nicely and even leave a decent but not long finish, but nevertheless the wine is refined without being very interesting. I would say it is worth it’s price (though no more and I’d prefer to get this level of wine at $30).
The most interesting thing about this wine is that it needed a long time to decant. I put it in the decanter and didn’t touch it for 2+ hours, but it was still too tart and acidic. This wine didn’t drink well until it had been decanted for about 5-6 hours. (2115 views) | | | Tasted by cweiner on 4/22/2013 & rated 90 points: Had suspected it might be past, but fear not. Easily a couple of years left. Nice fruit well integrated. Improves over an hour plus. (3170 views) | | | Tasted by lembkes on 3/18/2013 & rated 90 points: klar röd färg med hög intensitet
ren utvecklad medelstor intnsitet med fruktig fatig karaktär och insg av möka körsbär plommon vanilj och örter
torr fyllig relativt sträv med balanserad syra och fruktig fatig karaktär med inslag av körsbär björnbä vanilj och choklad
lång ftig svans
14%
ett utmärkt vin som är gott nu men även om 5 år
Malbec
Argentin Mendoza Catena 2006
serveras lite svalare vd typ 16 C
lammkotletter med timjan och vitlök. pot.grat. (2931 views) | | | Tasted by merryberry on 12/22/2012 & rated 89 points: Opaque purple-black. Oaky spice, blueberry, earth, and leather nose. Full bodied, intense blackberries, tart black cherries, pepper, woody tannins, smoke, tobacco, and a grainy, tongue-coating medium to long finish. Still a lot of oak showing in this monster of a malbec. Needs more time. (2648 views) | | | Tasted by tblundell on 8/16/2012 & rated 90 points: Very smooth. (3596 views) | | | Tasted by John Nezlek on 8/12/2012 & rated 91 points: First, Wine Spectator gave this bottle a "drink by" date of 2011. I do not know that they were smoking (or tasting) when they did this. I suspect this wine has a few years left in it.
Second, and actually more important, decant this wine! I poured my bottle into a large bottomed decanter (lots of surface area), and the wine improved meaningfully over 2 hours. Small tastes along the way suggested that at least 90 minutes was needed. Thank you mflesh for your TN.
Excellent bottle. As noted by some others, not too much fruit, but plenty of flavor. After decanting, the sort of harsh edge that was present at the outset was gone. Firmly structured, but not dry. Happy to have another. (3291 views) | | | Tasted by wineshaman on 6/18/2012 & rated 89 points: Like dark chocolate covered blackberries, low complexity. Drink over the next few years! (2929 views) | | | Tasted by Marcyrillo on 6/2/2012 & rated 92 points: Very oaky, but beautifuly integrated. Great Malbec. Elegant. It is on its peak. For sure it will last for few more years, but it will loose its fruity aspect that is so interesting. (3136 views) | | | Tasted by mflesh on 4/28/2012 & rated 90 points: This wine is SERIOUS. Gifted graciously to me by Cef Zambrano at Zambrano's Wine Cellar in Fort Worth on my 33rd birthday - this wine is dense, rich, purple, and has all the wonderful characteristics that a malbec should. In the world of malbec wines, this one is a monster. Not much of a FRUIT monster though. This wine is still medium to full bodied, not a huge freight train that cabs can be, but this wine will fool you. The wine was popped with a purple stain on the cork - less than 1-2 mm of cork bleed. The wine was very acidic out of the bottle which was limiting its true potential from the bottle. This wine initially had very much of a tart and sour cherry front to it, and needed to open up. Gradually after about 45 minutes, the wine had started to show its true colors. There was some chocolate in the nose after it had opened, with some excellent "briar patch" kind of characteristics for a red wine. The wine poured quite purple into the glass and was a very dense malbec. Over the night, some raisin, chocolate, and cherry notes dominated, but I feel that 45 minutes of decanting wasn't quite enough and this wine could have done easily a 93 with decanting over a 1 hr period. Who knows, maybe I would have gotten some cassis out of this, or some more earth in the mid-body (as I think I was getting this towards the end of the bottle). The wine was followed by a Goldschmidt cab, so this one was a nice intro to the night. I love the spicy finish, but the tart sour cherry kind of threw me off a bit. I think this wine can hold another 2-3 years, but please, please please decant to get this out of the bottle and it'll likely make the experience a little more enjoyable. Even still, what a great birthday gift!! (2907 views) | | | Tasted by rgrosz6 on 4/21/2012 & rated 91 points: I had this wine a few years ago, and this was my last bottle. It is fully mature, and still drinking nicely. It is almost black in color. It has a beautiful nose, of black fruits. Not a fruit bomb, nicely structured and balanced. I did not decant this - only had a little sediment at the end. (2538 views) | | | Tasted by Tarrant on 4/14/2012 & rated 91 points: One of the better Malbecs we've had of late, boy I find these very similar in flavour profile to Tempranillo with that steely, graphite edge found in Ribera, very nice - Black, full bodied with a nose of plum, cherry, graphite, blackfruit and vanilla, nicely structured and balanced, not over the top as many are, interesting, silky smooth on the palate with excellent length, very nice!! (2788 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, January/February 2010, IWC Issue #148
(Bodega Catena Zapata Malbec Catena Alta Mendoza) Subscribe to see review text. | By David Lawrason
WineAlign (11/18/2009)
(Catena Alta Malbec, Mendoza red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Szabo, MS
WineAlign (11/18/2009)
(Catena Alta Malbec, Mendoza red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (7/27/2009)
(Catena Zapata, Catena Alta Malbec Mendoza Red) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and WineAlign and JancisRobinson.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Bodega Catena Zapata Producer website
U.S. Importer (Addt'l Info)
In 1902, Nicola Catena, an Italian immigrant, planted his first vineyard in Mendoza, Argentina. The winery has remained under family control — now in its fourth generation — and is one of the few family-owned wine companies in Argentina that remains in Argentine hands. Owned today by Nicolás Catena and his daughter Laura, Bodega Catena Zapata is known as the pioneer of fine wine from Argentina, and Nicolás is recognized as the vintner who revolutionized wine quality in Argentina. A trained economist, Nicolás began this revolution in the early 1980s and continues to challenge himself and his team to make wines that can be counted among the best in the world. His measured approach to viticulture has taken its place in wine history as the pioneer of Malbec and high-altitude viticulture.
Head winemaker, Alejandro Vigil, has been at Catena Zapata since 2002. A naturally restless person, Alejandro strives to channel his creative energy into pushing the limits of conventional viticultural and winemaking wisdom. Always ready to try something new, full of endless experiments, Alejandro’s goal is to constantly increase his understanding of the unique terroir in Mendoza’s high-altitude desert oasis.
Catena wines, first launched in 1992, set a new standard for quality in South America. The wines immediately proved the quality potential of Argentina and garnered the first outstanding reviews for Argentine wines from worldwide media. After more than 20 years, the wines of Catena continue to lead the way in Argentine viticulture and winemaking. Nicolás Catena Zapata dared to plant vines where no one thought they would ripen. His high-altitude wine revolution culminated in the discovery of a new terroir for wine, the Adrianna Vineyard, at almost 5,000 feet elevation. Today, the team at the Catena Institute of Wine is dedicated to studying every meter, every rock, every insect and microorganism in the Adrianna Vineyard, making it perhaps the most studied vineyard in the world.
Malbec Varietal character (Appellation America)
One of the traditional “Bordeaux varietals”, Malbec has characteristics that fall somewhere between Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. A midseason ripener, it can bring very deep color, ample tannin, and a particular plum-like flavor component to add complexity to claret blends. Malbec is a finicky vine whose fruit is prone to rot and mildew in the cool, damp coastal climate of Bordeaux. But ask a Bordelais grower why there’s no Malbec around, and you’ll more likely get a dismissive shrug and sniff than a viticultural analysis. It is known in much of France as Côt, and, in Cahors, also as Auxerrois. There are in fact hundreds of local synonyms, since Malbec at one time was widely planted all over the country. Sensitivity to frost and proclivity to shatter or coulure (a disease that results in premature fruit drop) is the primary reason that Malbec has become a decreasing factor in most of France. Although plantings in the Medoc have decreased by over twothirds since the mid-twentieth century, Malbec is now the dominant red varietal in the Cahors area. The Appellation Controlée regulations for Cahors require a minimum content of 70%. Malbec is also planted in Chile, and there’s relatively little and recent acreage in California and Australia. It is usually blended with other red varietals in these countries. But Malbec truly comes into its own in Argentina, where it is the major red varietal planted. Much of the Malbec vines there were transplanted from Europe prior to the outbreak of phylloxera and most is therefore ungrafted, on its own roots. Sadly, over the years the bug infested Argentina, too, and vineyards are being replanted on resistant rootstock. Happily, the vines thrive in the arid climate of the Mendoza region in the foothills of the Andes. Made in the context of this South American nation’s Spanish and Italian heritage, it produces a delicious wine that has almost nothing in common with Bordeaux except the color. Argentines often spell it “Malbeck” and make wines from it that are slightly similar in flavor to those made in Europe, but with softer, lusher structure, more like New World Merlot. Another difference is that where French examples are usually considered short-lived, Argentine Malbecs seem to age fairly well. Successful Argentine Malbec growers claim that, in order to develop full maturity and distinction, Malbec needs “hang time” even after sugar levels indicate ripeness. Otherwise, immature Malbec can be very “green” tasting, without its characteristic notes of plum and anise. Malbec in Argentina has come to be appreciated for a spicy white pepper characteristic, the aroma of violets, and sweet, jammy fruit. It is a seductive wine that is typically warm and generous in the mouth, with plenty of flesh, and very appealing when young. Almost always producing a ripe and fruity, even plummy wine, Malbec can take oak aging or show well without it; it’s juicy and quaffable when young but can benefit from aging, developing an intriguing complexity with time in the bottle. It can range in price from as little as $7 to more than $75. The true potential of Argentine Malbec, and indeed in the entire spectrum of Argentine wines, is demonstrated by the fact that many of the world’s most renowned winemakers have come to Argentina to make wine. Both the legendary California winemaker Paul Hobbs, and Michel Rolland of Bordeaux, one of the world’s most famous winemakers, have created very high-end Malbecs. It may be the Italian component in the country’s mixed Latin family tree that fosters the fact that Malbec is an exceptional companion with a broad range of food. Its well-balanced fruit-and-acid profile makes it a natural with rare beef (bear in mind that Argentina is cattle country), but it’s just as good with simple fare from burgers to fried chicken. With its natural balance, good pairings include: cajun cuisine, calzones, cannelloni with meat, poultry, vegetable couscous, steak creole, Greek cuisine, deviled eggs, hummus, Indian cuisine, leg of lamb, Mexican cuisine with meat, pâté, spinach soufflé, and hearty pasta. For cheeses, think of harder styles that are either waxed or oiled, such as Parmigiano Reggiano, Ricotta Salata, Romano, Asiago, Pont l’Eveque, Gruyere, Manchego, Cantal, Comte, old Gouda, old Cheddar, Baulderstone, Beaufort, Leicester, aged Chesire, Chevre Noir, Wensleydale, Tilsit, Iberico, Mahon, Roncal, and Mizithra.Argentina Wines of Argentina
Argentina has been making wine since the 1500s, tracing its wine heritage back to Spain, France and, perhaps surprisingly, Italy. Italian immigration is second only to Spanish in Argentine culture, and the flavors of Italy show up strongly in the nation’s wine, food and cultural tradition. Historically, Argentina has kept much of its wine consumption at home, drinking most of the wine it makes. But we are now seeing more very serious Argentine wines north of the border, and Malbec is leading the movement. The wine-making region in Argentina ranges between the 22° and 42° South latitude. It spreads at the foothills of the Andean mountain range along over 2,400 km; from the province of Salta to the province of Río Negro, with a variety of climates and soils that makes each region a unique land. In general terms, the areas dedicated to vine cultivation are dry and arid with a low level of rain and humidity, determining factor as regards grape health. Abundant sunny days and thermal amplitude favor a good maturity and concentration of aroma and color in the grain. Soils are deep, permeable and poor in organic matter, decisive qualities at the time of obtaining good wine. Due to the low rain regime, irrigation is necessary. Water comes from the Andean range thaw, descending in the shape of rivers to become channels or ditches. Undoubtedly, the combination of these factors turns Argentina into a veritable oasis for the highest quality wine-making. Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go. Wine-making in Argentina, at the level that it achieves today, has a young history that goes back to a little more than 10 years ago. Technological progress, investment and some farsighted businessmen enabled a determining transformation. The province of Mendoza is the most traditional area in the viticultural industry, and is diverse enough to be divided into zones, according to their significantly different weather, height and soil characteristics. These include the Northern Zone, which is suitable for fruity whites and young reds, at a height from 600 to 700m; the Eastern Zone, with a height ranging from 600 to 700m, and the most productive zone in the province; the Uco Valley, a zone of colder weather and higher altitudes (between 800 and 1,400m over sea level); San Rafael, with heights ranging from 450 to 800m; and the High Zone of the Mendoza River, with heights ranging from 800 to 1,100m over sea level and various microclimates, this is the zone where almost all noble varieties have easily become adapted. It is a region that is remarkably well-suited to vine culture, protected from the Pacific’s cooling influence by the Andes and enjoying a long summer of cool nights and warm days, with a dry summer climate but plenty of water available from the region’s rivers. Malbec in particular is outstanding from this area, and it has clearly emerged as the star, the darling of both consumers and critics.Mendoza Wines of Mendoza |
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