Grand Mère
2020
Armed with the vision of elevating Catena and Argentine wines to stand with the best in the world, Catena’s high standard of excellence has brought them much acclaim over the years, for their wines and for their work. Most recently, Nicolás Catena Zapata was the recipient of Wine Enthusiast’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021, while his daughter Laura Catena, fourth generation vintner, as well as physician and author, has been called “the face of Argentine wine” and was awarded 2022...
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Aromas of red fruits, such as cherries and strawberries. As it opens, a little black fruit combined with a spicy character of black pepper and cinnamon. Medium acidity. Horizontal mouth.
Sliced mushrooms, cranberries, sour cherries, lemons, dried flowers and oyster shells on the nose. Medium-bodied, fresh and vibrant with tight, seamless tannins. Salty, mineral undertones. Serious pinot.
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This is the first year that 20% of the wine was aged in foudres, while the rest went through barrels, with a total of 10 months of aging, four months less than the 2021 vintage. And that's clear in the expression of the the fresh and juicy fruit, as is usual from this parcel, according to winemaker Roy Urvieta. It has very fine, sharp tannins, with oaky notes behind it, like soft background music. Grand Mère comes from a small two-hectare parcel in Villa Bastías, in southern Tupungato, and about 1,120 meters above sea level. It was planted in 2013.
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Grand Mère is only the entry point Pinot Noir from Roy Urvieta, but it’s still delightful stuff that would give a lot of red Burgundies a run for their euros. Clones 115 and 667 are used here, with 20% whole cluster fermentation and 10% new wood. Juicy, floral and succulent,
it’s layered, spicy and sweetly fruited.
Grand Mère pinot was first planted back in 2013. The 2-hectare mix of 667 and 115 clones is fermented with 20 percent whole cluster bunches before ageing 14 months in 15 percent new French oak, plus a combination of second and third use barrels. The style is subtle and very Burgundian despite sitting 1100 metres above sea level. Red fruits, cranberries, cherries, and floral notes dominate the nose. The palate is similar, with more brown spice, black pepper, and a dusting of wet stones. Fresh with perfectly managed tannin, it is another drink-or-hold situation, but this will easily live through 2028. A serious wine ready to take on some duck confit.
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The 2020 Grand Mère Pinot Noir is a single-vineyard Pinot Noir from vines planted in the Domingo Vineyard, which is cooler than the one used for Grand Père, at 1,120 meters in altitude in Villa Bastías in Tupungato by the river. The Domingo Vineyard has a lot of stones, but the warmth is compensated by a southern exposure. The wine has moderate ripeness and alcohol, 13.5%, and a delicate profile, but it shows the effect of the warmer year. The oaking is neat, but the imprint of the year in Pinot is quite high; it's quite transparent, also with the soils. It has a varietal profile, clean and harmonious, with spicy flavors and fine tannins. 13,080 bottles were filled in December 2021.
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I tasted the 2021 Grand Mère Pinot Noir next to the 2020, and it showed more contained ripeness (13% alcohol) and even better integration of the oak. It fermented with some clusters, less than the rest of the range here, and matured in French oak that was selected very carefully to not mark the wines. It's floral, clean and elegant, with a medium-bodied palate and refined tannins with a long finish where the flowers and red berries are intermixed with some spices and a dry, stony sensation. 14,890 bottles were filled in August 2022.
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