Cabernet Sauvignon
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2029
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Grilled ribeye steak, roasted lamb chops with rosemary, braised beef short ribs
✨ Technical Specifications
While Argentina is globally synonymous with Malbec, the Catena family's pursuit of world-class winemaking actually began with a deep obsession with Cabernet Sauvignon. In the 1980s, Nicolás Catena Zapata sought to challenge the dominance of Bordeaux by planting Cabernet Sauvignon in the high-altitude, cool-climate terroirs of Mendoza, particularly in Agrelo. This wine represents the realization of that vision. Grown in soils of clay and gravel at elevations exceeding 3,000 feet, the intense mountain sunlight thickens the grape skins, yielding deep color and robust tannins, while the dramatic diurnal temperature shifts preserve a vibrant, balancing acidity. Fermented in stainless steel and aged in a selection of French oak barrels, this Cabernet Sauvignon beautifully marries the grape's traditional structure, cassis, and eucalyptus notes with the rich, ripe dark fruit character unique to Mendoza's high-altitude desert.
🍾 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 Sauvignon