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2020 Catena Zapata "Nicolás Catena Zapata" Bordeaux Blend Mendoza

2020 Catena Zapata "Nicolás Catena Zapata" Bordeaux Blend Mendoza

98JS
97DC
97TA
96TWI
96VN
95RP
$109.99

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98

James Suckling

Reviewed February 2023
Cassis, tobacco, wet stones, iron and baking spices to the nose, showing class, restraint and complexity. Medium- to full-bodied on the palate with super fine tannins. Dry, super elegant and silky with a lengthy, polished finish. Really Bordeaux-like. Juicy and long. 54% cabernet sauvignon from Gualtallary, 25% cabernet franc from Altamira and 21% malbec from both areas. The highest portion of cabernet franc this year helped retain its nervy freshness! This is classy and beautiful. Harvested on March 12th and 13th. Drink or hold.

Professional Reviews

97

Decanter

Review Date: 07/2023
Wonderfully aromatic and nuanced on the nose, so alive and open. Energetic and lively on the palate, this has so much spark and brightness to it. Really compelling from the first sip, the tannins ample and cushioning the slick black fruit and accompanying savoury spices. Feels lean and taught, but with so much flair. Really a lovely expression, so generous and well defined. Youthful as you'd expect right now but when this softens it will be a beauty. Just gorgeous, with a minty fresh finish. Wine director Alejandro Vigil, winemaker Fernando Buscema. (GH)

97

Tim Atkin

Review Date: 06/2023
Fernando Buscema picked the components of Nicolás three weeks early to preserve acidity in 2020. The result is a brilliant release of this iconic red, made with Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc and a lowest ever 21% Malbec. Fine, detailed and ethereal, it has graphite and blackcurrant leaf aromas, cassis and blueberry fruit, subtle cigar box oak and remarkable palate length. 2025-35

96

The Wine Independent

Review Date: 08/2023
A blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 21% Malbec, the 2020 Nicolas Catena Zapata is deep garnet-purple in color. It rolls out with vibrant notes of redcurrant jelly, cassis, and baked plums, leading to hints of crushed rocks, wild sage, and fragrant soil. The medium-bodied palate is refreshing, finely crafted, and elegantly styled, with vibrant black fruit and savory layers and a fine-grained texture, finishing with a real skip in its step. (LPB)

Notes

Catena Zapata was founded in 1902 by Italian immigrant Nicola Catena. The flagship bottling of the winery, Nicolás Catena Zapata, is named after Nicola’s grandson who modernized the winery and developed additional high-altitude vineyards in the 1980s and 1990s. The wine was frist produced in 1997 and is a blend of pre-phylloxera, ungrafted Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, generally with a smaller amount of Cabernet Franc. In the words of wine critic Jancis Robinson MW, “Nicolás Catena Zapata is justly credited with putting Argentinean wines on the world map—by the best expedient of focusing entirely on quality.”

Details

OriginArgentina
Type/VarietalCabernet Sauvignon and Blends
SKU1754778