Bodega Catena Zapata : Nicolas 2021

Sweet tobacco, cigar box, berries and minerals. It gets a little zesty and citrusy on the nose. Really refined and juicy on the palate with lot of fine tannins. Silky, fluid and linear with a very elegant, soft-spoken finish. 46% cabernet sauvignon from Adrianna vineyard and 44% malbec and 10% cabernet franc from Nicasia vineyard. Really refined, long and Bordelais. This is already drinking really well, but it will hold like this for a long time.

Full bottle weighs 1,651 g. 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Franc from ungrafted, mass-selection, pre-phylloxera vines. New label paying homage to the old vines and the Bordeaux “classified” blend. Fermentation takes place in small oak barrels, concrete and stainless-steel tanks, at temperatures of 26–28 °C for about 15 days. Total maceration lasts between 18 and 22 days. Aged in French oak barrels for 18 months. Deepest garnet. Rich aroma of blueberries, blackcurrant and mulberry — i.e. both sweet and tangy — with a soft note of spice. The oak adds some sweetness but is not intrusive. Dark-chocolate flavour and texture on the palate, excellent freshness and a caressing texture, not in the least heavy. Elegant, long and delicious, with a long finish that is just gently chewy; on its way to being very smooth indeed. (JH)

A cool vintage, although not as much as 2016, with precision and nuance, floral aromatics, raspberry leaf, black cherry and brambled hedgerow fruit, with tobacco and chamomile flowers, smoky and intense. This vintage sees a new label for the first time since this wine was first released back in 1997, pointing to what makes it so different from many Argentinian Cab-Malbec blends (ungrafted pre-phylloxera vines, whole cluster vinification, massal selection programme leading to the diversity of their DNA). 50% new oak for ageing. Alejandro Vigil winemaker. Tasted twice.