2010 Catena Zapata Nicolas Catena Zapata Magnum

This is a wonderful blend of 75% Cabernet with 25% Malbec sourced from La Pirámide, Domingo, Adrianna and Nicasia Vineyards and is named after the winery founder, Dr. Nicolás Catena. The 2010 is a massive wine, yet possesses wonderful elegance. It displays a dark, inky color, followed by aromas reminiscent of dark fruits, black cherries, milk chocolate, graphite and hints of sweet oak. On the palate this is richly textured with nice viscosity, leading to delicious flavors of blueberry, blackberry, graphite and milk chocolate. Overall, this is an outstanding wine from winemaker Alejandro Vigil which shows remarkable aging potential and should continue to evolve gracefully over the next two decades, however it will require a few more years of bottle age before it hits its stride. (Best 2017- 2030).

The blend of Catena's top red wine has changed a bit since the first vintage in 2001, with a move away from Malbec towards Bordeaux varieties. The impressive 2010 combines 75% Cabernet with 25% Malbec and is a wine that, based on its predecessors, will keep and develop for a decade or more. Savoury, aromatic and complex, this still-youthful wine has remarkable weight and intensity of flavour, combining notes of violet, rose petal, sweet Asian spices and a core of red and black fruits. Tuck a bottle away for a decade. Drink: 2016-22.

Doctor Nicolas Catena always liked Cabernet Sauvignon so the wine that carries his name has a greater percentage of the noble Bordeaux grape. The 2010 Nicolas Catena Zapata is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Malbec sourced from La Piramide, Domingo, Adrianna and Nicasia. The fresh and balanced 2010 produced good ripeness of the fruit but the acidity was also great and the wine finished with 6.5 grams of acidity and a natural pH of 3.5, as the grapes are selected from cold soils. The first vintage was 1997, but this has to be one of their finest. This has the intensity of the Catena Alta Cabernet and the verticality and austerity of the Adrianna Malbec. It has very good acidity and intensity, while it has some velvety tannins. For a minute I was trying to remember the varietals as the sense of place, the freshness and the earthy sensations clearly take over. A superb bottle of wine. This is a wine to age. Drink 2016-2023.

Spicy, leathery, gritty notes share the nose with ripe black-fruit scents on this blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Malbec. At this stage, the palate feels narrow and pinched but not miserly. Flavors of spicy blackberry, briary plum and cassis finish with smooth yet strong tannins and a note of licorice. Drink 2015-2022.

A rich red, delivering powerful dark cherry, plum and dried blackberry flavors flanked by notes of slate and spice. Fresh and minerally on the finish, featuring some green herbal hints and firm tannins.