Adrianna Malbec
⏳ Drinking Window
2025 - 2035
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Grilled ribeye steak, roasted lamb chops, rich venison stew
✨ Technical Specifications
The Adrianna Vineyard, planted in 1992 in the Gualtallary sub-district of Tupungato, stands as a monument to Nicolás Catena Zapata's defiance of conventional winemaking wisdom. At nearly 5,000 feet above sea level, critics initially warned him that grapes would never ripen in such extreme mountain cold. Instead, the intense high-altitude sunlight and limestone-rich, gravelly soils yielded Malbec of unprecedented complexity, structure, and mineral-driven acidity. Named after his youngest daughter, this vineyard produces Malbecs defined by their deep violet hue, floral aromas of lavender and violet, and a distinctive chalky minerality. The winemaking emphasizes parcel-specific wild yeast fermentations and aging in French oak, capturing the wild, untamed spirit of the Andean frontier.
🍾 About the Producer
Founded in 1902 by Italian immigrant Nicola Catena, Bodega Catena Zapata is the preeminent pioneer of modern Argentine viticulture. In the 1980s and 1990s, third-generation visionary Nicolás Catena Zapata revolutionized the domestic industry by venturing into extreme high-altitude Andean terroirs, most notably planting the famed Adrianna Vineyard in Gualtallary at nearly 1,500 meters above sea level. Today directed by Dr. Laura Catena and celebrated winemaking director Alejandro Vigil, the estate pairs rigorous micro-terroir research through the Catena Institute of Wine with precision viticulture across alluvial, limestone-laced gravel soils. Fermentations frequently incorporate whole clusters and indigenous yeasts, vinified in concrete, oak foudres, and French barriques to preserve freshness, structural nuance, and site-specific tension. Benchmark bottlings such as the flagship Nicolás Catena Zapata, Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae Malbec, and Adrianna Vineyard White Stones Chardonnay stand as global archetypes of high-elevation South American fine wine.
🍇 Grapes
Malbec
🍷 ABV
13.5-14.5%