Catena Zapata, Nicolas Catena Zapata, Mendoza 2018

A sit up and take notice wine. Inky colour, smooth tannins, still young and crouched but already combining subtlety and confidence. On the palate, you get a wall of liquorice, crushed cardamom, rosemary, cassis, liqueur, all expertly delivered by winemaker Fernando Buscema. Sensational wine. Tasted twice, same impression each time, of a wine full of life and interest. Bottled unfiltered and unfined.

Drink 2024 to 2040

Aromas of blackberries, grilled meat, blackcurrants and wet earth. Full-bodied, tight and compact with dense dark berries and currants. Linear and long with a tight, focused palate. A blend of cabernet sauvignon and malbec.

Drink from 2022 onward

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec 35%) made from 210 micro-productions whose end result is approved by Nicolás Catena. A kind of summation of a long history, the grapes come from specific parcels of vineyards that Catena planted in the Uco Valley and Luján. The results are breathtaking. Purple in the glass with garnet flecks, this wine delivers layers of aroma, beginning with black currant and moving on to intense, precise notes of lavender and mint along with hints of black tea, sage and cigar box.

In the mouth, austerity vies for supremacy with sheer power, a balance overseen by polished, grippy tannins placed into relief by a well-judged freshness that keeps the whole package light on its feet. This is a wine of tension foregrounded by the blend: the Malbec smooths out the Cabernet Sauvignon, which in turn brings energy to a red with an extremely long finish.

Drink 2020 - 2032