The wines
of Catena Zapata, Mendoza, Argentina
SEE
A MORE RECENT REVIEW OF THESE WINES BASED ON A VISIT IN MARCH 2008
Interesting fact from Catena’s website: Argentina is the
only country in the world where you can find both monkeys and
penguins. Fascinating stuff. It’s also ranks fifth in the world
in terms of wine production, making five times as much wine as
neighbour Chile. The problem has been that much of this wine has
been of low quality, from heroically yielding vines fuelled by
Andean irrigation water. But back in the 1980s, Catena took the
revolutionary step of aiming for higher quality wines by lowering
yields, and is now widely regarded to be Argentina’s leading
producer. Certainly, at the top end I’ve never had better from
this country. The international success of Catena has occurred
under the direction of Nicolás Catena, grandson of the founder,
and things still seem to be moving forward. Last year, a
sparkling, grandiose new winery was opened, and the first release
of the new flagship wine, Zapata, took place to much critical
acclaim (and media hype). And the wines? There are four different
levels. Things don’t really start to get exciting until you get
to the Catena-labelled wines: the Malambo and Argento wines are
so-so; the Alamos wines merely good in an international style.
Things really move up a notch in quality (and, alas, price) with
the Catena wines, and the Catena Alta wines are brilliantly made,
possibly without peers in their homeland. Unfortunately, the £40
Zapata wasn’t available for tasting on this occasion.
Malambo Chenin/Chardonnay 2001
Very bright fruit – it’s fresh and accessible with good
concentration and a touch of citrus and spice on the palate. Nice
stuff. Good/very good (£3.99 Sainsbury)
Malmbo Bonarda 2001
Bright cherry fruit on the nose. Soft, juicy palate. A light
glugger, but clean and quite attractive. Good/very good (£3.99
Sainsbury)
Argento Chardonnay 2001
Regulation Chardonnay nose with some tropical fruit and a
touch of nuttiness. Attractive texture on the palate. Quite
savoury and manages to stay in balance. Impressive for the price.
Very good (£4.99 Sainsbury, Tesco, Oddbins)
Argento Malbec 2001
With some oak influence from barrel staves. Bright purple
colour. Quite a simple wine with ripe berry fruit and a touch of
savoury, spicy structure on the palate and a hint of sweetness.
Good/very good (£4.99 Sainsbury, Tesco, Booths, Coop, Majestic)
Alamos Chardonnay 1999
Nice rich nutty/toasty nose is quite rich. Powerful savoury
palate, showing lots of oak and some nutty fruit. Good
concentration but a bit over the top and crude. Very good (£5.99,
Unwins, Oddbins, Majestic)
Alamos Bonarda 2000
Fresh, bright nose is herb-tinged with cherry and plum fruit.
The palate is rich and juicy with a medicinal/herbaceous edge, and
some tannin. Very good (£5.99, Oddbins)
Alamos Cabernet Sauvignon 1999
Assertive nose of bright blackcurrant fruit with a herby edge.
Juicy palate with some tannic structure and just a touch of
herbaceousness. Very good (£5.99, Sainsbury, Majestic)
Alamos Malbec 2000
Fresh, lively fruity nose with some spicy oak and chocolatey
fruit. Good density of spicy, savoury berry fruit on the palate
with a lovely rich edge. This is tasty stuff. Very good+ (£5.99
Majestic)
Catena Chardonnay 2000
Creamy, bready nutty nose is a little lifted. Classy, richly
oaked palate with good acidity. A very rich style and quite
savoury. Very good+ (£8.99 Waitrose; £9.99 Majestic, Oddbins)
Catena Malbec 1999
There’s a spicy, roasted edge to the bright fruit on the
nose, which is rich and quite complex. The palate shows a good
concentration of spicy fruit and oak, with good density: high
acidity and some
tannin keep things nicely savoury. Very good/excellent (£9.99
Oddbins, Unwins)
Catena Cabernet Sauvignon 1999
Intense berry and blackcurrant fruit on the nose, which leads
to a juicy, rich, spicy palate. Great concentration, and the
oaking works well with the full-on fruit. Smooth and supple, and
kept fresh by high acidity. Very good/excellent (£8.99 Sainsbury,
Tesco, Majestic)
Catena Alta Chardonnay 1999
Really intense nose – a supercharged version of the Catena
Chardonnay – with lifted acidity and bready, toasty and spicy
notes. The palate is rich and concentrated, displaying lots of
fruit and oak (although this is well integrated). Spicy and full,
yet still quite elegant. Very good/excellent (£19.59 Bibendum,
Harrods)
Catena
Alta Cabernet Sauvignon 1997, Mendoza, Argentina
Lovely refined nose: very tight and classy, with creamy,
cedar-laced blackcurrant fruit and a subtle leafy edge. Almost
Bordeaux like. The palate shows a good density of ripe fruit with
an attractive texture and good tannins and acidity. Very refined
and well judged, this is one of the best wines I've tried from
Argentina. Excellent (£21.54+ Bibendum, Harrods)
Catena Alta Malbec 1999
Dense berry fruit on the nose, with a savoury, spicy edge. The
palate is rich and full: it’s chunky, with attractive savoury
berry fruit. Great concentration. Although it’s a little bit
tight and closed at the moment, there’s good potential here.
Very good+ (£21.54 Harrods, Wine Society, Bibendum)
Back to top
Wines tasted:
January 2002 |