Grand Père
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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The vineyard is old, planted in Villa Bastías with Dijon Clones in 1993. The Grand Père parcel is more shaded, with delicate red fruits and high acidity. Mineral. The Grand Mère parcel gets more sun, with generous and silky tannins. Winemaking is traditional and gentle for these delicate wines. Yields are extremely low in both sites due to the age of the vineyard.
Intense fresh red fruits, medium-high acidity. Low perception of alcohol. Fine and silky tannins. Lengthy finish.
A dead-ringer of Burgundy with mushrooms, moss, forest berries and orange zest. Textured, medium-bodied on the palate with a very long, layered finish. Goes on and on. Drink now or hold.
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This has intense, engaging aromas of dried cherries, grilled plums, chocolate, hazelnuts, dried orange peel and nutmeg. It’s medium-to full-bodied with silky tannins. Supple, bright and packed with sun-kissed fruit and spice. There’s plenty of tension, too. Tight finish.
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The difference between the 2020 Grand Père Pinot Noir and the Grand Mère comes from the soils, and this suffers less in warmer years because the plants get less stressed and have more water. So, within the riper style of the year, this has more austerity, but it's still juicy, medium-bodied and fine-boned, with 13% alcohol and some spiciness from the barrels in the finish. 14,994 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2021.
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For this Gran Père, they used grapes from the first vineyard that the Catena family planted in the Uco Valley, around 1993, in the Villa Bastías area, at an altitude of about 1,100 meters. It's a selection of two hectares neighboring the Grand Mère, Domaine Nico's other cru, and in this case—according to winemaker Roy Urvieta—the sunniest area tends to produce darker fruits and greater volume. This offers black fruits, but also a very good acidity that provides freshness, which gives vitality. The tannins are firm and sharp, and the fruity flavors continue to refresh until the end.
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Laura Catena set out to honour her grandparents with elegant pinot noirs her father planted in Tupungata long before anyone thought about pinot noir in Argentina. Grand Père was planted in 1993, just as malbec was emerging as the national story in Argentina. Grand Père is all clone 115, all planted over loamy soil on rounded alluvial rocks covered with limestone at Villa Bastías, Tupungato, in the Uco Valley at 1121 metres. The Grand Père parcel gets more shade than the Grand Mere, leading to a more delicate, light red with stronger mineral and higher acidity. A more intellectual offering. Winemaking is gentle with roller fermenters and concrete eggs involved. Ready to drink through 2025.
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The 2021 Grand Père Pinot Noir comes from the same property as Grand Mere in Villa Bastías. But this part of the plot has a northern exposure, the soil has more sand and less stones and it doesn't have the influence from the river like the Grand Mère does. So, the exposure is warmer, but the soils are cooler, if you like, and the wines are balanced. 2021 was a cooler year, and the wine is impressive, marked by the climate from the year, perfumed and elegant with notes of orange peel and an ethereal palate with very good balance and subtleness through very fine tannins. Very supple. It has moderate 12.5% alcohol, and they used more full clusters. 14,400 bottles were filled in August 2022.
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