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Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino 2020 750ml

size
750ml
country
Argentina
region
Cuyo
appellation
Mendoza
subappellation
Gualtallary
JS
98
WA
95
VM
95
DC
94
W&S
94
Additional vintages
JS
98
Rated 98 by James Suckling
Perfumed and seductive nose of purple plums, blueberries, dried roses, violets, lemon zest, chocolate, truffles and cigar box. It’s full-bodied, yet so elegant and weightless. Seamless, finely knit tannins. Beautiful, lengthy finish. Try from 2024. ... More details
Image of bottle
Sample image only. Please see Item description for product Information. When ordering the item shipped will match the product listing if there are any discrepancies. Do not order solely on the label if you feel it does not match product description

Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino 2020 750ml

SKU 940895
Case Only Purchase
Long-term Pre-Arrival
$471.90
/case
$78.65
/750ml bottle
Quantity
min order 6 bottles
* This is a Long-term Pre-arrival item and is available for online ordering only. This item will ship on a future date after a 4-8 months transfer time. For additional details about Pre-arrival Items please visit our FAQ page.
Professional Ratings
JS
98
WA
95
VM
95
DC
94
W&S
94
JS
98
Rated 98 by James Suckling
Perfumed and seductive nose of purple plums, blueberries, dried roses, violets, lemon zest, chocolate, truffles and cigar box. It’s full-bodied, yet so elegant and weightless. Seamless, finely knit tannins. Beautiful, lengthy finish. Try from 2024.
WA
95
Rated 95 by Wine Advocate
The 2020 Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino follows the path of the 2019, harvested early and fermented with 100% full clusters in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in oak vats and some barrels for 12 to 18 months. It's juicy, powerful and with abundant tannins and a slight earthiness. It's a little more voluptuous and mixes grapes from Angélica (Lunlunta) and some from Nicasia (Altamira). 45,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2021.
VM
95
Rated 95 by Vinous Media
The 2020 Malbec Argentino Catena Zapata from Lunlunta and Paraje Altamira, Mendoza was made in roll fermenters and spent 18 months in used barrels. A vivid purple in the glass. The nose features ripe blackberry, plum, raisins, tobacco and unexpected violet notes before a secondary layer of aromas from the aging process and a whiff of strawberry. Creamy and smooth on the palate with an indulgent opening leading into a broad, voluminous flow, this is a complex, velvety wine in which the luxury is balanced by the freshness. A superb Mendoza Malbec.
DC
94
Rated 94 by Decanter
Ambitious, quite spicy, with well-defined blackberry, plum, juniper and rosemary. Silky, supple and with perfumed oak, this is an appealing yet serious style of Malbec.
W&S
94
Rated 94 by Wine & Spirits
This wine hails from a mass selection of ungrafted malbec planted during the 1920s in the Angélica Vineyard; the original plant material arrived from France before that country’s 19th century bout with phylloxera. It ferments in new French oak, including 20 percent as whole bunches, pointing up the purple-blue-black fruit complexity that grounds the wine while an airy, coffee-like edge adds levity. Rich and intense but not heavy, this will reward years of cellaring, but it’s hard to feel too bad about opening a bottle now when the wine tastes this good.
Winery
The Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino shows a saturated dark violet color with ruby reflections; the nose offers cassis, blueberries and violets, along with a strong suggestion of soil tones. It combines density and sweetness on the one hand, with gripping, lightly saline flavors of mocha, dark berries, spice, and minerals; a palate-staining finish dominated by sweet black and blue fruits.
Product Details
size
750ml
country
Argentina
region
Cuyo
appellation
Mendoza
subappellation
Gualtallary
Additional vintages
Overview
Perfumed and seductive nose of purple plums, blueberries, dried roses, violets, lemon zest, chocolate, truffles and cigar box. It’s full-bodied, yet so elegant and weightless. Seamless, finely knit tannins. Beautiful, lengthy finish. Try from 2024.
green grapes

Varietal: Malbec

The purple Malbec variety grapes which now grow all over the Old and New Worlds had their origins in France, where they are one of the few grape varieties allowed to be used in the highly esteemed blended wines of Bordeaux. However, it is perhaps the New World Malbec wines which have attracted the most attention in recent years, as they thrive in hot southern climates in ways they cannot in their native country, where the damp conditions leave them highly vulnerable to rot. Malbec grapes are renowned for their high tannin content, resulting in full-bodied red wines packed with ripe, plummy flavors and held in their characteristically dark, garnet colored liquid. In many countries, Malbec is still used primarily as a varietal for blending, as it adds a great level of richness and density to other, lighter and thinner varietals. However, single variety Malbec wines have been greatly on the rise in recent years, with some fantastic results and big, juicy flavors marking them out as a great wine for matching with a wide range of foods.
barrel

Region: Cuyo

The historic mountainous region of Cuyo in central-west Argentina, remains the nation's key wine producing area to this day, producing over eighty percent of the country's wines. Argentinian wines have gone from strength to strength over the past few decades, and it is undoubtedly the region of Cuyo which produces Argentina's most characterful and representative wines. Cuyo's dry and arid soil, rich in iron and other minerals has proven to be an ideal environment for the cultivation of Malbec grapes, alongside several other varietals which thrive in the hot climate and reach full ripeness each autumn, expressing their fruit-forward character. The vineyards of Cuyo are fed by the great Desaguadero River and its tributaries, helped by the extensive irrigation projects which have been undertaken over the past century.
fields

Country: Argentina

Anyone who has been the Mendoza area of Argentina may be surprised to find that this is one of the primary wine regions of the country, now comfortably sitting as the fifth largest producer of wine in the world. The Mendoza is an incredibly dry and arid desert, which receives as little as two hundred millimeters of rainfall per year, and supports very little life at all. We can thank the ancient technologies of the Huarpes Indians for Argentina's current booming wine trade, as they managed to irrigate the region by digging channels from the Mendoza river, thus creating an area which had enough access to water with which to grow vines. Not only this, but the grape which Argentina primarily uses for their wines – Malbec – actually flourishes in such conditions, as it is less likely to suffer from the rot it so often finds in the considerably damper regions of Europe it has its origins in. Such expertise and foresight has resulted in Argentina being able to produce high quality wines of both red and white types, with Malbec, Bonarda and Cabernet Sauvignon dominating the vineyards for red wines, and Torrontés, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc making up for most of the white wine produced there.
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Winery Catena Zapata
green grapes

Varietal: Malbec

The purple Malbec variety grapes which now grow all over the Old and New Worlds had their origins in France, where they are one of the few grape varieties allowed to be used in the highly esteemed blended wines of Bordeaux. However, it is perhaps the New World Malbec wines which have attracted the most attention in recent years, as they thrive in hot southern climates in ways they cannot in their native country, where the damp conditions leave them highly vulnerable to rot. Malbec grapes are renowned for their high tannin content, resulting in full-bodied red wines packed with ripe, plummy flavors and held in their characteristically dark, garnet colored liquid. In many countries, Malbec is still used primarily as a varietal for blending, as it adds a great level of richness and density to other, lighter and thinner varietals. However, single variety Malbec wines have been greatly on the rise in recent years, with some fantastic results and big, juicy flavors marking them out as a great wine for matching with a wide range of foods.
barrel

Region: Cuyo

The historic mountainous region of Cuyo in central-west Argentina, remains the nation's key wine producing area to this day, producing over eighty percent of the country's wines. Argentinian wines have gone from strength to strength over the past few decades, and it is undoubtedly the region of Cuyo which produces Argentina's most characterful and representative wines. Cuyo's dry and arid soil, rich in iron and other minerals has proven to be an ideal environment for the cultivation of Malbec grapes, alongside several other varietals which thrive in the hot climate and reach full ripeness each autumn, expressing their fruit-forward character. The vineyards of Cuyo are fed by the great Desaguadero River and its tributaries, helped by the extensive irrigation projects which have been undertaken over the past century.
fields

Country: Argentina

Anyone who has been the Mendoza area of Argentina may be surprised to find that this is one of the primary wine regions of the country, now comfortably sitting as the fifth largest producer of wine in the world. The Mendoza is an incredibly dry and arid desert, which receives as little as two hundred millimeters of rainfall per year, and supports very little life at all. We can thank the ancient technologies of the Huarpes Indians for Argentina's current booming wine trade, as they managed to irrigate the region by digging channels from the Mendoza river, thus creating an area which had enough access to water with which to grow vines. Not only this, but the grape which Argentina primarily uses for their wines – Malbec – actually flourishes in such conditions, as it is less likely to suffer from the rot it so often finds in the considerably damper regions of Europe it has its origins in. Such expertise and foresight has resulted in Argentina being able to produce high quality wines of both red and white types, with Malbec, Bonarda and Cabernet Sauvignon dominating the vineyards for red wines, and Torrontés, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc making up for most of the white wine produced there.