Catena Zapata winery, Courtesy of Catena Zapata

Laura Catena, Courtesy of Catena Zapata

Malbec is Argentina’s superstar grape, thriving in some of the highest elevation vineyards in the world.  It’s plush flavor profile, fruit forward, with plump dark fruit, violet flowers, cocoa, leather, and a sweet tobacco finish, is enchanting.  But Argentinean producers are redefining Malbec’s potential, discovering that the best sites, although possibly at the edge of successful viticulture, are yielding fascinating wines.  Bodega Catena Zapata is a pioneer in this extreme altitude winegrowing, producing over a dozen Malbec wines, but seven that have zeroed in on the highest Andean terroir.  This wine dynasty of four generations strong has continued to evolve the essence of Malbec and its standing among the iconic wines of the world.

Adrianna Vineyard, Courtesy of Catena Zapata

Founded in 1902, Argentina’s Bodega Catena Zapata has been a pioneer with Malbec, improving its quality through winegrowing choices, but especially by championing the potential of high altitude vineyards in the Andean foothills of Mendoza.  Starting with Nicola Catena’s immigration from Italy to Argentina in 1898, his intuition that Malbec would do very well there transformed the viticultural landscape.  Domingo, the next generation, accumulated more vineyards, believing as his father that Argentine Malbec would make a very fine wine, rivaling any first-growth Bordeaux.

Nicolás Catena Zapata, Courtesy of Catena Zapata

Laura Catena, Courtesy of Catena Zapata

Laura Catena in Adrianna's Vineyard, Courtesy of Catena Zapata

But it was the third generation, Nicolás Catena Zapata, that focused on producing that spectacular wine.  Inspired by a stint in Napa Valley, he returned to Argentina, determined to move from bulk wine to fine wine.  Planting high altitude vineyards, especially the Adrianna vineyard in the Tupungato that sits at 5,000 feet, he found that the slow ripening and low yields made for unique aromas and flavors, producing elegant and balanced wines.  But unlike the generations before him, he felt that Malbec would blend well with Cabernet Sauvignon to make a world-class wine.  In 1997, he released his Nicolás Catena Zapata cuvée, earning the inaugural vintage “Argentina’s #1 Malbec” from the Wall Street Journal.  Continuing to improve the brand, Nicolas selected the best Malbec vines, known as the “Catena cuttings”, for his new mountainside vineyards in the Uco Valley.  Today, Managing Director and fourth generation vintner Dr. Laura Catena, physician and author, uses her background in science to continue to refine those choices, establishing the Catena Institute of Wine that researches options in vineyard replanting, to ensure that Malbec continues to excel and defy all expectations.

Earlier this year, a very special tasting event was hosted by Dr. Laura Catena at the Consulate General of Argentina’s LA residence for wine writers and influencers.  Nine wines were poured, three Chardonnay and six Malbec, with an emphasis on those very high altitude vineyards that has defined their wines.

Laura and her younger sister, Adrianna, wanted to tell their family’s story and that of the Malbec grape through a special wine, Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino.  First produced in 2008, this limited wine is made from the best lots of their estate vineyards.  The label depicts four female figures that have shaped Malbec over the past 900 years.  Beginning with Eleanor of Aquitaine, a Queen of France and England in the 1100’s whose love of the wine spread its consumption throughout both kingdoms.  Next, immigrants brought the Malbec grape with them to the New World, and planted vineyards throughout Argentina.  In the late 1800’s, phylloxera, specifically the female louse, burrowed into the roots of grape vines throughout France, which destroyed almost all of the Malbec plantings there.  Interesting footnote, to this day, phylloxera changed France’s viticultural landscape, with Merlot replacing most Malbec vineyards in Southwest France, except for the area of Cahors.  And the fourth female influence, Ana Catena, the great grandmother of Laura and Adrianna, who met her husband, Nicola Catena, onboard the ship while immigrating from Italy to Argentina.  Together, they forged a wine dynasty, and founded Bodega Catena Zapata in 1902 in Mendoza.  This story was enacted in a one-woman play titled “As Wine Flows By”, written by Adrianna’s playwright husband, a very creative way to illustrate the Malbec and Catena family’s intersected journey of wine!

What was evident, in all the wines I tasted, was the high quality and distinctive flavor profiles.  What makes Malbec grown at higher altitudes so different?  It seems that the higher the vineyard, the cooler the climate, so the hang time is longer, and the sun more intense. The grapes develop thicker skins and more phenolic ripeness, yielding more intense fruit aromas and flavors. The acidity is higher, balancing the vivid fruit, so, as a result, the wines are fresher and have greater aging potential.

My favorites:
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Catena Zapata Nicasia Vineyard Malbec 2015 - whole cluster and whole berries barrel fermented in new French oak barrels, wild yeasts and malolactic fermentation, aged in barrel for 24 months plus bottle aging for another 24 months before release.  Juicy, ripe, and luscious, with plum and red fruit, violets, and spice, expressive and complex.

Catena Zapata Adrianna Vineyards Mundus Bacillus Terrae Malbec 2016 - fermented in concrete and oak, aged for 18 months in barrel, savory nose and sweet dark fruit and spice palate, well structured, balanced with high acidity and chiseled tannins.

Catena Alta Historic Rows Chardonnay 2017 - a blend of two high altitude vineyards (Adrianna and Domingo), rich and concentrated, yet crisp and mineral, with notes of pear, apple, apricot and citrus, with white floral notes, elegant and aromatic.

Laura Catena is quoted, “My father’s dream was to make Argentine wines that could stand with the best of the world.”  I think that Bodega Catena Zapata has succeeded in this lofty aspiration, crafting wines that continue to climb to new heights of quality.

Dr. Catena’s newest book, “Gold In The Vineyards”, is an illustrated collection of stories behind the world’s most famous vineyards, focusing on the story of a wine through the lens of family and terroir, just released in March on Amazon.