2020 Catena Zapata Cabernet Sauvignon Appellations Agrelo

Some of the Appellation wines were produced before the "Appelation" series was created, as is the case with the classic Appellation Agrelo Cabernet Sauvignon, from a classic zone in Lujan de Cuyo. It was produced with grapes from 30-year-old vines at an altitude of 950 metres. It has been aged in French and American oak barrels for one year. This is one of the few places where you will find the old vine Cabernet Sauvignon, a classic place for the grape. It is serious, harmonious and very varietal, without green or overripe aromas. It has a good palate with very fine tannins, elegant yet powerful. This is a Cabernet-Sauvignon as it should be, Intense and powerful, with vanilla, herbs and black pepper, full of character, but at the same time beautifully soft in the aftertaste and is a perfect accompaniment to an Argentinian steak from the grill, lamb roulade with rosemary, light blue cheeses. The Wine lawyer (Parker) writes in his review: " This overdelivers"

Nicolás Catena considered Agrelo to be the best region for Cabernet Sauvignon based wines. The cabernet simply needs a little more heat than the other grapes, and it gets that here, because the vineyards are less high. The average altitude at which the vineyards of Agrelo are located is about 1,000 meters. This is not extremely high for Argentina. Agrelo is part of the famous Luján de Cuyo wine region.

These vineyards around the famous 'pyramid' of Catena, where the cellars and tasting room are located, are located in this region, about 30 kilometers south of Mendoza. Catena therefore calls this vineyard 'La Pyramide'. The deep clay soils and temperate climate of the Agrelo appellation produce wines revered for their robust tannins and smooth, long finish.

The cabernet is harvested from more than thirty-year-old sticks from historic family vineyards, planted on a soil consisting of a mixture of clay and loam. After a cold soak of 3 days, the grapes undergo a long fermentation of almost three weeks, to give the wine a lot of depth and structure. Maturation takes place in a mix of French and American oak, of which about 35% is new oak. The selection of barrels varies depending on the vineyard and vintage. It gives the wine a wonderful complexity, and a lush, broad and intense character.