Nicolás Catena Zapata
⏳ wine.drinking_window
2025 - 2045
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Roasted rack of lamb, grilled ribeye steak, slow-braised venison
✨ wine.spec_sheet
The 2019 vintage of Nicolás Catena Zapata represents a masterclass in high-altitude blending, capturing the essence of a remarkably cool and dry growing season in Mendoza. This vintage is a precise assemblage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc, sourced from historic, high-elevation vineyards including La Pirámide and Nicasia. The cool climate of 2019 allowed for slow, even ripening, preserving vibrant acidity and fine-grained tannins. The wine underwent spontaneous fermentation in small oak casks before aging for 18 months in French oak. This vintage pays homage to the traditional Bordeaux blends of the 19th century, before phylloxera, when Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon ruled the Left Bank together, reimagined through the prism of Argentina's extreme mountain terroirs.
🍾 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.