2021 Luca Syrah Laborde Double Select

Luca is Laura Catena's private project. Laura has left her mark on the wine world and is often called 'the face of Argentine wine', because she has meant a lot to the country. She recently presented her 100-year plan: “I want every collector in the world to have Nicolás Catena Zapata in their basement – that is my dream”.

Another dream of Laura Catena was the creation of Luca, named after her eldest son. With Luca she wants to make quality wines, where the perfect terroir, low yields per hectare and state-of-the-art winemaking are the key words. Luca's vineyards are located at an altitude of 900 to 1500 meters and are among the highest in Mendoza. Here you will find old vines, which may no longer produce much, but keep the quality of the vineyard (and therefore the wines) high. She wants to show the best expression of each grape variety. Luca has planted six grape varieties in total: chardonnay, malbec, pinot noir, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc.

The grapes come from the 'Laborde' vineyard in La Consulta, Uco Valley. Double Select refers to the process used by Louis Labardo. Luis Labardo was a renowned French wine grower from the Rhône. He chose the best Syrah vines (not clones) he could find in the Rhone Valley and planted them in a research vineyard in Mendoza fifty years ago. He monitored their quality and picked only the vines that produced the best fruit. So there was a subtle variation between the vines, but he (and many others) believed that it was better than choosing one specific clone. Whether that is true is still subject to debate among oenologists and wine growers. The vines are now 53 years old. The Laborde vineyard is located 900 meters above sea level in the Uco Valley. A traditional vinification takes place, followed by a twelve-month aging in oak barrels, 35% of which are new and the rest second-year. The Syrah 'Laborde Double Select' has the typical purple Syrah/Shiraz color in the glass. On the nose this is a powerful Syrah with aromas of leather, cigar, sweet spices, forest floor, blackberry jam and black cherries. On the palate this is a full, rich wine with typical Syrah notes of leather and blackberries. The velvety tannins go hand in hand with the dark fruit. Delicious with grilled or roasted meat, such as rib-eye from the BBQ. Also delicious with cheese-filled portobello mushrooms.