Angelica Zapata Adrianna Vineyard Cabernet Franc Alta
⏳ Drinking Window
2026 - 2040
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
roasted lamb, grilled ribeye steak, roasted duck
✨ Technical Specifications
Named in honor of Angélica Zapata, the matriarch of the Catena family, this Cabernet Franc 'Alta' represents the family's pioneering exploration of high-altitude terroirs in Mendoza. Sourced from premier high-altitude parcels, including the extreme Gualtallary region where the Adrianna Vineyard sits at nearly 1,450 meters above sea level, this wine showcases the remarkable potential of Cabernet Franc in mountain soils. The combination of intense sunlight and cool alpine nights yields a wine of exceptional structural complexity, intense aromatic profile, and refined minerality. It is traditionally aged in French oak barrels, resulting in a sophisticated, age-worthy expression that balances ripe red fruit with distinct herbal and mineral undertones.
🍾 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
Cabernet Franc