Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino

The Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino is the wine the Catena Zapata winery has placed up alongside the best red wines in the world. It is made using grapes from old Malbec vines from two historic vineyards they own; Angélica, at an altitude of 920 metres, and Nicasia, at 1095 metres.

The must ferments for a month in different sized (225-500 litre) new French oak barrels. About 20% of the grapes are fermented with stems. The slow action of the native yeasts allows for an excellent interaction between grape and oak, and the low fermentation temperature leads to an elegant extraction of its aromatic components. The wine then ages for 24 months in French oak.

The resulting wine is open and expressive, with aromas of violet and a large presence of fruit which breaks with the tendency of most single-estate wines, interpreting the difficult and historic art of blending. The magnificent evolution the wine shows in the glass goes to show that the winemaking method they use is the right one.