Estibada Reservada
⏳ Drinking Window
2025 - 2045
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Grilled prime ribeye steak, roasted rack of lamb, slow-braised venison
✨ Technical Specifications
Catena Zapata's Estibada Reservada is one of South America's most legendary and elusive cult wines. Originally conceived in the late 1980s by Nicolás Catena Zapata as an ultra-exclusive private family reserve, it was designed to prove that Mendoza could produce a Cabernet-dominant blend capable of rivaling the finest Bordeaux First Growths. Sourced from historical, high-altitude parcels in the clay-rich soils of Agrelo, this wine undergoes meticulous parcel selection and extended aging in French oak. For years, it was kept strictly within the family cellars or gifted to dignitaries, earning a mythical reputation among collectors. Today, it remains a rare masterpiece, celebrated for its profound structure, refined tannins, and deep connection to the pioneering spirit of Argentine viticulture.
🍾 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
100% Malbec