Backfill & Diversify Vol. 4
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The Producer
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Bodegas Catena-Zapata has been producing wine for
over a century in the Mendoza Valley in Argentina,
but has really come of age under the auspices of Dr
Nicolas Catena-Zapata, its current owner.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence of
this man, who bestrides the Argentine wine industry
like an Olympic gymnast on the pommel horse. He was
named 2004 Wine Personality of the Year by The Wine
Advocate, Robert Parker Jnr’s bi-monthly
publication. In The Wine Spectator, James Molesworth states, “One
grape and one man are leading the country's march
toward wines of quality and character,” and
goes on to point out that “…almost all
the country's top wines are made by Catena's Bodega
Catena Zapata winery”.
If this sounds a bit one-sided, that’s because
it is! The man and his wines rise head-and-shoulders
above the pack of Argentine wine producers.
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The Wine
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This is 100% Malbec, a
grape that was a staple in Bordeaux, but that has now
become increasingly rare in that region. In European
terms it is now more famous for being the backbone of
the red wines of Cahors.
Personally, I prefer the Argentine versions. I find
them purer, lacking the (sometimes extreme)
earthiness of their French counterparts. And they are
at least as age-worthy.
Catena has conducted exhaustive research into the
terroir of his vineyards of the high Andes. This wine
comes from assorted plots, variously 2,850’,
3,100’, 3,000’, 4,600’ and
4,725’ above sea level.
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Accolades
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The 2004 Malbec Catena
Alta came top in the Malbec Made for Meat
competition held in the Gaucho restaurant in Picadilly. It also took Best
with Lamb and Best with Beef in the same taste-off.
Perhaps more significantly, Robert Parker gives it an
upbeat 94 points and says, “…It offers
greater aromatic complexity with notes of pepper,
clove, leather, and chocolate in addition to violets,
black cherry, and blackberry. Medium-bodied and
elegant, it has a plush texture, layers of spicy
black fruits and minerality, excellent balance,
and a 60-second finish. It will evolve for 5-7 years
and drink well through 2025.”
Almost equally chipper, The Wine Spectator bids
93/100, stating, “Dark and lush, with a
gorgeous mouthfeel to the
exotic fig, boysenberry and blueberry fruit flavors backed by intense
spice, mocha, loam and licorice notes. Superlong, showing great drive
and purity on the finish. A beauty.”
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