Malbec Argentino
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Typically best enjoyed 5–20 years from vintage release.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Grilled ribeye steak, slow-roasted lamb shoulder, rich venison stew
✨ wine.spec_sheet
Catena Zapata's Malbec Argentino is a liquid chronicle of the Malbec grape's historical journey. The wine's striking label pays homage to this heritage through four symbolic women: Eleanor of Aquitaine, representing the grape's medieval cradle in Cahors; the Immigrant, symbolizing the pioneers who brought the variety to the New World; Phylloxera, representing the devastating pestilence that decimated European vineyards; and Adrianna Catena, representing the modern rebirth of Malbec in the extreme high-altitude terroirs of Mendoza. Sourced from the historic, ungrafted old vines of the Nicasia and Ang lica vineyards, this monumental red is micro-fermented in French oak barrels and aged to achieve a profound complexity, offering an intense expression of dark fruit, violet aromatics, and deep mineral undertones.
🍾 wine.about_producer
Founded in 1902 by Italian immigrant Nicola Catena, the historic Catena Zapata estate is located in Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina, and remains family-owned under the visionary leadership of Nicolás Catena Zapata and his daughter Laura. Renowned for pioneering high-altitude viticulture in the Andean foothills, the winery revolutionized Argentine winemaking by proving that world-class, age-worthy wines could be produced from extreme mountain terroirs. Their production philosophy focuses on meticulous parcel selection and soil-specific micro-vinifications, particularly within the acclaimed Adrianna Vineyard. Catena Zapata is celebrated globally for its profound, structured red wines, most notably its flagship Bordeaux-style blend, Nicolás Catena Zapata, and the highly expressive, mineral-driven Adrianna Vineyard River Stones Malbec.