Catena Zapata Nicolas (750ML)
From Valle de Uco
| Vintage: | 2018 |
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| Description: | 97 De / 97 Fs / 97 Ja / 96 Wa / 96 JS / 96 Vm / 17 Jr. Powerfully aromatic on the nose and palate with blackcurrants, liquorice, aniseed and herbal elements. Dark fruits fill the mouth with chewy, juicy tannins. This has such a lovely eucalyptus freshness that just drives the wine from start to finish allowing the intense fruit to shine but also giving a feeling of coolness on the tongue. Really delicious with excellent structure and precision. The wine first joined the Place de Bordeaux in 2018. First produced in 1997 and now made by the father-daughter team Nicolás Catena Zapata and Dr. Laura Catena. Fermentation takes place in 500l oak barrels, concrete and stainless-steel tanks, at temperatures of 26-28ºC for about 10-15 days. The post-fermentation maceration lasts between 5 and 10 days. The wine carries out its malolactic fermentation and is then aged in French oak barrels for 18 months. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Malbec.-Georgina Hindle, Decanter. Aromas of dark chocolate, smoky wood notes, tobacco and plum, menthol. Still seems introverted. On the palate the wine is very dense with grainy tannins, acidity, oiliness and alcohol seem in perfect balance. Behind the fabric hides a lot of juiciness, a firm tactile minerality, and a ripe fruit still undeveloped. - Peter Moser, Falstaff. A sit up and take notice wine. Inky colour, smooth tannins, still young and crouched but already combining subtlety and confidence. On the palate, you get a wall of liquorice, crushed cardamom, rosemary, cassis, liqueur, all expertly delivered by winemaker Fernando Buscema. Sensational wine. Tasted twice, same impression each time, of a wine full of life and interest. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux. The 2018 Nicolás Catena Zapata was produced with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon from Gualtallary (Adrianna vineyard, with the Cabernet Sauvignon interplanted with some Cabernet Franc) and 35% Malbec from Altamira (Nicasia vineyard). They no longer use grapes from Agrelo, and this is also a lot higher in Malbec than in other recent vintages. So, it has a very different profile, a change that started in 2017, with more contained ripeness and more freshness, and the wine is intense, keeping some of the Cabernet character (tobacco, blackberries) and the floral notes from Malbec. It comes through as balanced and harmonious, with very fine tannins and a long finish and perfect ripeness. This aims to revive the style of Bordeaux before phylloxera, from massal selection of ungrafted vines. 62,400 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2019.-Luis Gutierrez, The Wine Advocate. Aromas of blackberries, grilled meat, blackcurrants and wet earth. Full-bodied, tight and compact with dense dark berries and currants. Linear and long with a tight, focused palate. A blend of cabernet sauvignon and malbec. Drink after 2022.-James Suckling. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec (35%) made from 210 micro-productions whose end result is approved by Nicolás Catena. A kind of summation of a long history, the grapes come from specific parcels of vineyards that Catena planted in the Uco Valley and Luján. The results are breathtaking. Purple in the glass with garnet flecks, this wine delivers layers of aroma, beginning with black currant and moving on to intense, precise notes of lavender and mint along with hints of black tea, sage and cigar box. In the mouth, austerity vies for supremacy with sheer power, a balance overseen by polished, grippy tannins placed into relief by a well-judged freshness that keeps the whole package light on its feet. This is a wine of tension foregrounded by the blend: the Malbec smooths out the Cabernet Sauvignon, which in turn brings energy to a red with an extremely long finish.-Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous Media. Strikingly different from the 2016 of the same wine tasted alongside. Darker, cloves, more spice, more power. Bay leaf. Wood bark and meat. A trace of cooked mulberry, dried woodland fruit, biltong. The structure of the wine feels marble-stone rectangular, Pantheonic in its power and geometric, foursquare, foundational magnificence and impressiveness. The kind of wine that has me looking up, and up, in awe. Their notes say the ideal drinking window is 2040 to 2048, but without that kind of ageing reference point, I'm going to be much more conservative in my estimate.-Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson. |
| Price: | $ 79.89 |
| Price in original currency: | None |
Available from Grand Vin Wine Merchants
| Address: |
1003 4th Avenue East Olympia, WA 98506 United States |
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| Telephone (regular): | 360-350-4896 |
First added to 1000 Corks on July 15, 2024.
