BOTEGA CATENA ZAPATA
2010 CATENA MALBEC "Bright red-ruby. Raspberry, licorice and fig aromas lifted by sexy oak tones. Vinous and refined on the palate, with dark raspberry, currant and fig flavors complicated by a saline nuance. Nicely balanced and not at all overly sweet. A slightly high-toned quality gives the wine lovely inner-mouth aromatic lift. Finishes with firm, fine, building tannins and excellent length." Steve Tanzer 90 points

Producer

Over the past 20 years, Nicolás and Laura Catena and their vineyard management team have worked tirelessly in the discovery, identification and development of key microclimates in the high altitude wine country of Mendoza, Argentina. Nicolás Catena has planted an almost countless number of varietals and clones throughout his mountain vineyard sites. This quest for quality lead Nicolás and Laura Catena to a crucial discovery regarding the influence of altitude on grape cultivation in Mendoza. Observing the important differences in soil types, average temperatures and thermal amplitudes that exist at varying altitudes, he found that vineyard sites which are just a few kilometers apart can have vast differences in altitude and possess remarkably different microclimates. Over the years, the in depth study of these different microclimates led Nicolás to determine that the same varietal, and even the same clone, presented distinct aromatic and flavor profiles when cultivated in each of these unique microclimates. Implementing the age old art of assemblage, he found that by blending these different lots of the same varietal, he could achieve a more complex wine.