2021 Nicolas Catena Zapata

Full bottle a heavy 1,651 g. 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Franc from ungrafted, mass-selection, pre-phylloxera vines. New label paying hommage to the old vines and the Bordeaux 'classified' blend. Fermentation takes place in small oak barrels, concrete and stainless-steel tanks, at temperatures of 26–28 °C for about 15 days. The total maceration lasts between 18 and 22 days. Aged in French oak barrels for 18 months. Deepest garnet. Rich aroma of blueberries, blackcurrant and mulberry – ie smells both sweet and tangy – with a soft note of spice. The oak adds some sweetness but is not intrusive. Dark-chocolate flavour and texture on the palate, excellent freshness and caressing texture and not in the least heavy. Elegant, long and delicious and just gently chewy on the long finish; on its way to being very smooth indeed. (JH)

For some producers, the 2021 vintage, marked by certain rains in February that tempered the harvest temperatures in March, represents the closest thing to a Bordeaux year that can be achieved in Mendoza. In that sense, the 2021 was an ideal vintage for Bordeaux-origin varieties. This unique situation is clearly reflected in the 2021 Nicolás Catena Zapata, which unveils a new label for this vintage after being aged up to 21 months in French oak barrels. The wine blends 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Malbec and 10% Cabernet Franc from Uco Valley vineyards. With a deep purple hue and a garnet tint, it opens with delicate cassis and Bordeaux-like nuances of ash, tobacco, black fruit and cherry. Expressive and compact, it features cedar notes on a long, lingering finish.

A cool vintage, although not as much as 2016, with precision and nuance, floral aromatics, raspberry leaf, black cherry and brambled hedgerow fruit, with tobacco and chamomile flowers, smoky and intense. This vintage sees a new label for the first time since this wine was first released back in 1997, pointing to what makes it so different from many Argentinian Cab-Malbec blends (ungrafted pre-phylloxera vines, whole cluster vinification, massal selection programme leading to the diversity of their DNA). 50% new oak for ageing. Alejandro Vigil winemaker. Tasted twice.