Cabernet Franc Appellation San Carlos
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2032
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
roasted lamb, grilled ribeye steak, roasted duck
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the cold, high-altitude terroir of San Carlos in the southern Uco Valley, Catena Zapata's Appellation San Carlos Cabernet Franc is a testament to the family's pioneering spirit in exploring Mendoza's diverse microclimates. San Carlos, situated at over 1,000 meters above sea level, is defined by its dramatic diurnal temperature shifts and sandy loam soils layered with calcium carbonate. This extreme climate slows ripening, allowing the Cabernet Franc grape to develop intense aromatic complexity—marked by fresh red currants, eucalyptus, and black pepper—while maintaining a vibrant, crisp acidity. The Catena family, who revolutionized Argentine viticulture, treats this wine with the same meticulous care as their flagship bottlings, utilizing wild yeasts and aging in French oak to craft a refined, mineral-driven expression of Cabernet Franc that challenges the traditional dominance of Malbec in the region.
🍾 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
🍷 ABV
13.5-14%