Nicolás Catena Zapata
⏳ wine.drinking_window
2024 - 2045
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Grilled ribeye steak, roasted leg of lamb, venison stew
✨ wine.spec_sheet
The 2018 Nicolás Catena Zapata is a masterclass in high-altitude blending, capturing a vintage heralded as one of the finest of the decade in Mendoza due to its cool, dry, and stable growing season. This vintage marries Cabernet Sauvignon from the clay-rich soils of the historic La Pirámide Vineyard with Malbec from the high-altitude, limestone-rich parcels of the Adrianna and Nicasia vineyards. The wine pays homage to the traditional Bordeaux blends of the 19th century, when Malbec played a prominent role alongside Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged for 18 months in French oak, it delivers immense structure, seamless tannins, and a vibrant, mineral-driven acidity that reflects the extreme mountain terroir.
🍾 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.