Gran Enemigo Gualtallary 2014

EL ENEMIGO

Gran Enemigo Gualtallary
2014

Country
Argentina
Regulated designation
Geographical Indication (GI)
Region
Mendoza
Subregion
Valle de Uco
Classification
Single vineyard
Varietal(s)
Cabernet Franc 85 %
Malbec 15 %
Colour
Red
Producer's website
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About this winery

El Enemigo, “the enemy”. The struggle that most defines us in our lives is the one that we wage with our selves. We are all our own worst enemies. This is the credo behind the name on the label. The wines of El Enemigo are enigmatic, charismatic, and verging on iconoclastic. In that way the wines reflect their maker, Alejandro Vigil, an almost Picasso-like personality. “Ale”, as he is known, is the head winemaker at the iconic Bodega Catena Zapata, but he has many loves. He consults,...

See the EL ENEMIGO detail page for more information on this brand

Production notes

Fermentation in barrel, average temperature: 22ºC. Cold maceration for 5 days. Average maceration 23 days. 30% whole bunch. French oak barrels 2nd and 3rd use. 5 different harvest times (1,5 month between the first and the last one).

Press reviews

Wine Advocate

- 98 points -

Luis Gutiérrez, June 2018 (Vintage 2014)

I also tasted the 2014 Gran Enemigo Gualtallary Single Vineyard, which might take some months to come into the market. It has some balsamic aromas, medicinal hints, traces of orange peel, saffron and a touch of sweet spices. It's built around very fine tannins and a notable core of acidity that acts as backbone, giving it length and lifting up the finish. This is quite in line with the 2010 vintage, with power and freshness in a rare combination of clout and elegance only the very best wines manage to show.

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Wine Advocate

- 98 points -

March 2021 (Vintage 2017)

The 2017 Gran Enemigo Gualtallary Single Vineyard didn't show any heat or excess ripeness from a warm and dry year. On the contrary, it's austere and has citrus acidity, with great freshness and minerality. The palate is super austere with vibrant acidity—by far the highest among the Gran Enemigo bottlings—and very fine, chalky tannins. This is remarkable, serious, balanced and fresh with a very, very long and salty finish. This fermented in barrels with 100% full clusters and indigenous yeasts and matured in centenary oak foudres for 15 months. 3,000 bottles were filled in July 2018.

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James Suckling

- 97 points -

May 2021 (Vintage 2017)

Pretty aromas of plum, blueberry, rose hip, lavender, sandalwood and oyster shell. It’s medium-to full-bodied with silky, seamless tannins. So pure and elegant with gorgeous layers of cool blue fruit. Saline and coffee notes, too. Long and evolving. Drink or hold.

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Tim Atkin MW

- 96 points -

May 2020

“Finesse, finesse, finesse,” says Ale Vigil of this brilliant Gualtallary paso doble of Cabernet Franc and 15% Malbec. Fermented with 50% whole bunches and aged in venerable foudres, it’s a classy, polished, effortlessly nuanced co-fermentation with fine tannins, chalky zip and length, impressive focus and fresh, tangy black fruit.

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James Suckling

- 96 points -

February 2018 (Vintage 2014)

A perfumed and significant red on the nose with crushed blackberries, currant bush and rose petals. Full body, fresh herbs, dense fruit and a racy finish. Very powerful.

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Descorchados

- 95 points -

2021 (Vintage 2017)

El Enemigo obtains the grapes for this wine from the Adrianna Vineyard that Catena owns in the Monasterio zone at the foot of the hills of Jaboncillo in Gualtallary. Most of the blend (80%) is cabernet franc from 25-year-old vines, and the rest is malbec, all planted on calcareous and stony soils. After aging in foudres for 15 months, this wine has the area's characteristic exuberant aromas of flowers and sour cherries amid a rather friendly texture along with intense, razor-sharp acidity. Another Gran Enemigo Single Vineyards you'll need to keep your hands off of for at least five years.

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Vinous

- 95 points -

October 2020

A blend of 50% Malbec, 20% Cabernet Franc, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon; 10% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot from the Uco Valley and Luján de Cuyo, aged in barrels and foudres. Bright purple in the glass. The intense, complex nose delivers bold notes of plum, black currant, blackberry, blueberry and orange zest plus a hint of pyrazine, followed by layers of roasted red pepper, oaky spices and herbs. A profound wine with lively but gentle tannins, firm acidity (pH 3.45) and good body. Lengthy, complex finish. All the different flavors of Mendoza combined.

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Tim Atkin MW

- 95 points -

May 2018 (Vintage 2014)

My pick of the Gran Enemigos in 2014, this cuvée of Cabernet Franc with 15% Malbec hails from Gualtallary. It’s a fresh, savoury, scented style with chalky minerality, fine-boned tannins and a long, tangy, refreshing finish. Sappy, mouth-watering stuff.

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