Malbec Vista Flores
โณ Drinking Window
2023 - 2028
๐ฝ๏ธ Food & Wine Pairings
Grilled ribeye steak, roasted lamb chops with rosemary, beef empanadas.
โจ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the high-altitude terroir of Vista Flores in the Uco Valley, Mendoza, this expressive Malbec is a testament to the Catena family's pioneering exploration of mountain viticulture. Grown at elevations exceeding 1,100 meters, the vines benefit from intense Andean sunlight and dramatic diurnal temperature shifts, which preserve fresh acidity while developing deep, concentrated flavors. The soils here, rich in loamy sand and surface stones, impart a distinct mineral tension to the wine. Historically, the Catena family helped put the Uco Valley on the global map by demonstrating that these cooler, higher-elevation sub-regions could produce wines of incredible elegance, structure, and floral complexity, moving away from the heavier, jammy styles of the past.
๐พ 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 Nicolรกs 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 Nicolรกs 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.
๐ Grapes
Malbec
๐ท ABV
13.5-14%