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South America’s First Robert Parker Perfect Scores — Two Wines from Adrianna Vineyard
Adrianna Vineyard River Stones Malbec 2016 and El Gran Enemigo Single Vineyard Gualtallary 2013 both received 100-point scores from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate — the first South American wines to achieve this distinction. Both were produced from the Catena family’s Adrianna Vineyard, planted in 1992 at 1,500 meters in Gualtallary, Mendoza.
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Decanter Wine Legend: Nicolás Catena Zapata 1997
The 1997 was the first vintage, vinified by winemaker Jose Galante. After release in 2000, it was entered into blind tastings against 1997 wines from Château Latour, Opus One, Caymus Special Selection and Solaia, regularly taking first or second place. The Cabernet Sauvignon came from La Pirámide vineyard at 950m; the Malbec from the 60-year-old Angélica Vineyard.
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Wine Spectator Wine Star: Laura Catena
Laura Catena — emergency-room physician, author and winemaker — is cementing Malbec’s place on the world stage. At the 2018 New York Wine Experience, Catena Zapata was featured as one of ten wine stars. The family’s 2004 Malbec Mendoza Argentino received 95 points from Wine Spectator.
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Catena Transformed the Face of Argentine Wine
Nicolás Catena was not satisfied with the Malbec clones available — mostly they grew large berries that produced rustic aromas. He planted 135 cuttings and selected the best five with the smallest berries and most textured flavours. Many called him “completamente loco,” but he had a vision for very fine wines.
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High Hopes in the Andes
Can science help produce a New World wine as complex as Bordeaux? Laura Catena founded the Catena Institute of Wine in 1995, completing the world’s first massale and clonal selection of pre-phylloxeric Malbec, elevating Argentine wine to new heights.
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Laura Catena’s Malbec Mission
Wine-Searcher sat down with Catena to discuss all things Malbec — gender roles in Argentina, unstable economies, and what it takes to make a 100-point South American wine. “We founded the institute in 1995 because no one could give us advice about Malbec.”
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Catena Zapata Joins La Place de Bordeaux
Catena Zapata announced that Nicolás Catena Zapata 2015 and Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae Malbec 2015 will be distributed through 10 Bordeaux merchants in Europe and Asia. Laura Catena: “I have long admired the Bordeaux négociants’ commitment to distributing the greatest wines to collectors worldwide.”
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New Malbec Label: A Story Told Through Four Women
Catena Zapata unveiled a new label design for Malbec Argentino 2015, told through four symbolic women: Eleanor of Aquitaine (birth of Malbec), The Immigrant (crossing the ocean), Phylloxera (Old World destruction, New World rebirth), and Adrianna Catena (present and future). Winner of the 2018 Drinks Business Best Design & Packaging Award.
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You Think You Know Malbec Wine. You Are Wrong
A new wave of subtle, structured wines from Argentina are poised to change how the world sees Malbec. Bloomberg’s critic confessed to thinking Argentine Malbec vastly overrated — until tasting elite versions costing over $100. The article highlights Alejandro Vigil’s Mundus Bacillus Terrae Malbec 2013 from Adrianna Vineyard.
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Ode to Malbec — From Bordeaux’s Black Wine to Andean Flagship
Malbec is one of the five Bordeaux varietals. Grandfather Domingo insisted: “Nicolás, our Malbec can compete with the best wines in the world.” After rehabilitating the old Angélica Vineyard in Maipú, the superior quality was undeniable. Pouget brought Malbec to Argentina in 1852. After phylloxera destroyed 6.2 million acres of French Malbec, Mendoza became the world center.
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Beyond Malbec: Exploring Mendoza’s Soil Secrets
The New York Times explores how Catena Zapata moves beyond Malbec, investigating Mendoza’s soil diversity. Laura Catena explains: “We need both elements — cool climate and special soils.” Different soils produce distinctly different Chardonnay expressions.
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The Future of Wine Science
Catena Zapata scaled microvinification trials from 250 annually in 2008 to 2,000 by 2010. Fernando Buscema completed “the most in-depth study of Malbec ever published” at UC Davis, comparing 26 Mendoza blocks against 16 California blocks. Argentine Malbec showed higher di-hydroxylated anthocyanins.
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Nicolás Catena: Innovation Through Technology Is Finished
The patriarch declared: “Innovation through technology is finished. Today the topic is terroir.” His 1982 visit to Napa Valley was a turning point. In 1993, planting at 1,500 meters yielded Malbec with softer tannins while maintaining fruit concentration.
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Look to the Next Generation
Laura Catena spoke at UC Davis, contrasting the overlooked Argentine booth at the 1995 New York Wine Experience with Catena Zapata’s 2018 star billing. She founded the Angélica Zapata Foundation to inspire students, collaborating with UC Davis because “we all share one planet.”
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The Grande Dame of Malbec
Christophe Salin, General Director of Domaines Barons de Rothschild, called Laura Catena “the first woman to run one of the high-end wineries of her country” — “an eminent scientist, graduated from Harvard and Stanford,” whose “warhorse” is Malbec. Their joint venture Bodegas Caro unites two families and two countries.
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Taking Their Place: Female Winemakers in Argentina
Just a generation ago, women were kept at arm’s length by Argentina’s wine industry. When Laura Catena started in 1995, she questioned: “Where are the controls?” The viticulturalist suggested she focus on marketing instead. She founded the Catena Institute of Wine, launching the first Malbec plant selection. Today its research is published in leading journals.
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