2020 Catena Zapata Cabernet Sauvignon Appellations Agrelo
| Type of Wine | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Region | Mendoza |
| Appellation | |
| Winery | |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Grape | |
| Content (Alc) | 0.75 ltr (13.5%) |
| Drink window | 2022 - 2028 |
Description
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.
Specifications
| Type of Wine | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | Argentina |
| Region | Mendoza |
| Appellation | Agrelo |
| Winery | Catena Zapata |
| Grape | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Biological certified | No |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Drinking as of | 2022 |
| Drinking till | 2028 |
| Alcohol % | 13.5 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Promotion | Tier Price |
| Parker rating | 92 |
| Tasting Profiles | Dark fruit, Dry, Aged on wood, Powerful, Tannines, Full |
| Drink moments | Barbecue, Cadeau!, Lekker luxe, Met vrienden, Open haard, Romantisch |
Wijnhuis
The leading house Catena Zapata has been active in Argentinian viticulture for 4 generations. Bodega Catena Zapata was founded by Nicola Catena who left Italy by sailing ship to Argentina in 1898. He eventually ended up in Mendoza and planted his first vineyard here in 1902 with the grape variety Malbec. His son, Domingo, inherited the winery and realized his father's dream of becoming one of the greatest vineyard owners in Mendoza.
In the 1960s, the winery went through a difficult period due to the poor economy and rising inflation. Nicolás Catena, Domingo's son with an economics degree, took over in the mid-1960s and concentrated on expanding distribution in Argentina. He sold the table wine producing winery and kept only Bodegas Esmeralda, the winery of fine wines.
Argentina was known at the time as a bulk wine producing country and Nicolás was therefore considered crazy. But he insisted on looking for the best locations to plant vineyards, including in Gualtallary at high altitudes. In the 1980s he started to plant the grape varieties Chardonnay and Malbec. According to his own vineyard manager, the latter grape would never ripen here, but fortunately for Nicolás he did.
It took him five years before he was completely satisfied with the Malbec grape in the 60-year-old Angélica vineyard for the production of the Catena Malbec in 1994. A little later he started producing the Catena Alta wines, from the best plots. from its vineyards. He also grew many clones of the Malbec and managed to find the most suitable vineyard for each of them.
In the late 90s he started making some top cuvées which he called Catena Zapata (after the name of his mother Angélica Zapata). These wines are produced exclusively in exceptionally good years. Bodega Catena Zapata produces five different lines, mostly from vineyards at an altitude of 900 meters or more: Catena Zapata, Catena Alta, Catena, Alamos and Argento.
Reviews
