Catena Zapata Nicasia Vineyard Malbec 2018

Professional Ratings

• 98 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  The 2018 Malbec Catena Zapata Nicasia Vineyard, from a vineyard planted in Altamira in 1996 from an old massal selection, has contained ripeness, reflecting the less warm vintage (after 2017). The grapes were picked very early but with good ripeness because of the low yields in a very dry year. It fermented in open-top barrels with 100% full clusters and indigenous yeasts and matured in 500-liter oak barrels. It's a balanced and elegant Malbec with some restraint and a very fine thread in the palate, with really fine tannins. It follows the path of the phenomenal 2017, fine and elegant.
• 96 James Suckling
  This is rich and decadent with crushed berries, light chocolate, meat and blueberries. Full body, polished and chewy tannins and an extremely long, flavorful finish. Fresh and beautiful. Love the coolness to the flavors here. Drink or hold.
• 95 Wine & Spirits
  Nicolás Catena planted this vineyard in La Consulta in 1996, with vines selected from his family’s 80-year-old Angelica Vineyard in Lunlunta. At 3,600 feet in altitude, Nicasia is considerably higher and cooler than Lunlunta (the average temperature is below 58°F); the massal selection is planted on its own roots. Those vines yielded a fresh, concentrated wine in 2018: It’s super youthful, a jumble of red fruit, oak and spice right out of the bottle, bold and boisterous in its energy. As it takes on air in the glass, the wood tones melt into the fruit, the wine becoming more savory while the flavors keep juicing up—floral, herbal, smoky, earthy, salty. Fine tannins give it shape and hold the flavors fresh for days after the bottle is opened.
• 94 Wine Enthusiast
  The nose is aromatic, opening with thyme, plum and dark chocolate. Coming from Paraje Altamira, this wine presents the character of the region, featuring vibrant acidity and mineral texture. Herbaceous notes blend with tobacco and chocolate on the juicy palate. It's well structured and offers subtle notes of plum and cherry in the finish. It's elegant, promising and complex.
  Editors' Choice