Catena Zapata Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Winery: Catena Zapata

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon

For most of us, when we look for red wines in a wine store or supermarket, the name Cabernet Sauvignon stands out as a mark of quality and reliability. The same can be said for the way those who cultivate the grapevines see them, too, as part of the reason Cabernet Sauvignon varietal grapes have had so much success all over the world is due to their hardiness against frost, reliability in regards to yield and quality, and great resistance to rot. As such, Cabernet Sauvignon is a winemaker's dream of a grape, consistently delivering excellence alongside a few pleasant surprises. Despite the fact that the grape on its own in a young wine can often be a bit overpowering, too astringent and challenging for many tastes, it is the perfect grape varietal for blending and aging in oak. Such a truth has been displayed for centuries now in some of the finest wineries on earth, for whom Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are the grape which adds the punch to their world-beating blended wines.

Region: Cuyo

Situated in and around the Andean mountains, the Cuyo region of Argentina has long been associated with the best of the country's wine industry. Including now world famous provinces such as Mendoza and La Rioja, Argentina's Cuyo region has something of an ideal environment for the cultivation of high quality grapes – including Argentina's flagship varietal, the Malbec – which includes the beautiful Desaguadero River and its tributaries. Although the region itself is quite dry and arid, the soils have a remarkably high mineral content, and plenty of iron which gives it the distinctive red color associated with Cuyo. For several decades now, wineries in Cuyo have been booming, as more and more of the global wine audience begin to recognize the region's remarkable potential for rich and flavorful wines.

Country: Argentina

It is said that the first Argentinian vines were planted in the Mendoza more than four hundred years ago by European settlers, and despite these early wines being used primarily for religious purposes, the fervor for wine making never left the area. Today, Argentina is keen to demonstrate its technological prowess when it comes to vineyard cultivation, by combining traditional methods of irrigation left over from the Huarpes Indians with modern techniques in order to make the dry, arid desert an ideal environment for growing grapes. Indeed, these ancient irrigation channels, dug hundreds of years ago and still in use today, bring mineral-rich melt water from the Andes via the Mendoza river, something which gives the grapes grown in this region some of their character. The primary grape of this and other regions of Argentina is the Malbec, which is highly susceptible to rot in its native France, but which thrives in the dry and hot climate of South America, producing rich and plummy wines which are highly drinkable especially when young.