2004 Malbec Argentino

(this bottling represents the best 12 barrels from a high-altitude planting of vines more than 70 years old) Good bright, deep ruby. Deep, sexy aromas of blackberry, blueberry, gunflint and licorice. Suave, dense and sweet, with a creamy, complex core of black fruit, leather and violet flavors. Large-scaled, pliant and generous wine with lovely clarity and lift, thanks to excellent balancing acidity. This very classy malbec finishes with superb tannic structure and outstanding mounting persistence. A knockout. (A second bottle, which I rated 93+?, was a bit more youthfully clenched but clearly built to reward cellaring.)

The single-vineyard 2004 Malbec “Argentino Vineyard” spent 17 months in new French oak. Remarkably fragrant and complex aromatically, it offers up aromas of wood smoke, creosote, pepper, clove, black cherry, and blackberry. Made in a similar, elegant style, it is the most structured of the three single vineyard wines, needing a minimum of a decade of additional cellaring. It should easily prove to be a 25-40 year wine. It is an exceptional achievement in Malbec. When all is said and done, Catena Zapata is the Argentina winery of reference – the standard of excellence for comparing all others. The brilliant, forward-thinking Nicolas Catena remains in charge, with his daughter, Laura, playing an increasingly large role. The Catena Zapata winery is an essential destination for fans of both architecture and wine in Mendoza. It is hard to believe, given the surge in popularity of Malbec in recent years, that Catena Zapata only began exporting Malbec to the United States in 1994. Importer: Billington Imports, Springfield, VA; tel. (703) 455-4700; www.catenawines.com