Bodega Catena Zapata

About the producer

Bodega Catena Zapata has been instrumental both in the development of fine wine production in Argentina and in realising the full potential of the Malbec grape.

Nicola Catena first moved to Mendoza in 1898 and planted his first Malbec vines in 1902. These Malbec vines are very special, having been first brought over to Argentina from Bordeaux in the 1850s – before phylloxera destroyed these clones in both Bordeaux and Cahors. Although it was – before phylloxera – used as significant blending component in Bordeaux, Nicola Catena believed that it could achieve greatness on its own in Mendoza. It is this vision that has been realised by Laura and her father, Nicolás Catena Zapata.

Inspired by time in California (where he was a visiting economics scholar) in the 1980s, in the wake of the Judgement of Paris tasting – where Californian wines triumphed over those of Bordeaux and Burgundy, Nicolás Catena set out to create wines that would stand up to France’s best. Returning home to the family business, he shifted the estate’s focus away from volume, seeking out high-altitude sites in Mendoza that could produce the quality he felt was possible.

While the emphasis was – and is – on the winery’s special pre-phylloxera Malbec clones, that were once so central to the quality of Bordeaux, the estate’s top wine – Nicolás Catena Zapata – is a more modern Cabernet-led Bordeaux blend. It was first made in 1997, inspired by the outstanding quality of the Cabernet that year: the resulting wine went on to win various competitions, as well as the praise of consumers and critics, and is today one of Argentina’s most collected cuvées.

Bodega Catena Zapata is today the oldest family estate in Argentina, now run by Laura Catena, Nicolás’s daughter and the fourth generation of the family.

In the vineyard

Laura’s father Nicolás Catena was fascinated by the effects of altitude on the Malbec grape and experimented at higher and higher elevations, which he felt was where the greatest wines could be made. Mendoza has a very long summer season, enabling the grapes to ripen slowly over a long period of time, producing concentrated flavours and tannins, while also retaining acidity due to the high diurnal shift in temperature at such high altitudes.

The property has six different vineyard plots in the subregions of Mendoza and the Uco Valley. Catena Zapata was the first to plant in the Gualtallary region of the Uco Valley; at 1,120 metres’ altitude, many thought it wouldn’t be possible to ripen Malbec here, but it has become one of the finest sites in Argentina.

Bodega Catena Zapata set up the Catena Institute in 1999, making it one of the leading wineries in the world for scientific research on viticulture and vinification methods, studying the effect of microbes in the soil and the effects of climate.

In the winery

In the late 1990s Laura and her father Nicolás Catena realised that while Malbec had its origins in Bordeaux, it was wrong to ferment the grape in the same way as other Bordeaux varieties. At the time Malbec was often highly extracted, with long maceration times to draw out as much colour and tannin as possible. However, they believed this technique lost all the aromatic appeal of the variety. Therefore, they changed the vinification, making extraction much more gentle and shortening maceration times, stating Malbec should be made more like Pinot Noir rather than Cabernet Sauvignon. With their top Nicolás Catena Zapata blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, they ferment the fruit in oak barrels.

About the producer

Bodega Catena Zapata has been instrumental both in the development of fine wine production in Argentina and in realising the full potential of the Malbec grape.

Bodega Catena Zapata is today the oldest family estate in Argentina, now run by Laura Catena, Nicolás’s daughter and the fourth generation of the family.

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2018 Malbec Nicasia