- 98 points -

The flagship, the 2007 Nicolas Catena Zapata, a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Malbec, and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. It delivers an enthralling aromatic array of pain grille, pencil lead, mineral, espresso, mocha, incense, lavender, black currant, black cherry, and blackberry. This leads to a full-bodied, powerful yet elegant effort with great depth and volume, precision balance, and a voluptuous personality (a D-cup of a wine). It conceals plenty of structure and will effortlessly evolve for 6-8 years, drinking well through 2032 if not longer.

- 98 points -

The 2022 Nicolás Catena Zapata blends 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Malbec and 11% Cabernet Franc from Gualtallary and Paraje Altamira. This aged for 18 months in first- and second-use French barrels. It shows great precision. The vintage brings ash, sour cherry, plum, lavender and oak notes of cedar, sandalwood, licorice, followed by blackberry. This is layered and expressive. On the palate, it delivers fine grip, juicy energy and length, with textural depth, light chalk and compact structure. The 2022 is full-bodied and pushed to its limits by the cool, dry year, with a final hint of talc.

- 98 points -

This has a complex nose of baked blackberries, grilled plums, dried earth, moss, pine cones, sandalwood, charcoal and cloves. It’s medium-bodied with firm, tightly knit tannins. Wow. So much going on. Layered, seamless and silky. Incredible length. Keeps going. 42% cabernet sauvignon, 30% malbec and 28% cabernet franc.

- 98 points -

#12 Top 100 Wines of Argentina

Cassis, tobacco, wet stones, iron and baking spices to the nose, showing class, restraint and complexity. Medium- to full-bodied on the palate with super fine tannins. Dry, super elegant and silky with a lengthy, polished finish. Really Bordeaux-like. Juicy and long. 54% cabernet sauvignon from Gualtallary, 25% cabernet franc from Altamira and 21% malbec from both areas. The highest portion of cabernet franc this year helped retain its nervy freshness! This is classy and beautiful. Harvested on March 12th and 13th.

- 98 points -

The flagship wines begin with the purple/black-colored 2005 Nicolas Catena Zapata, a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Malbec. The fruit was sourced from four of the estate's finest high-elevation vineyards, and aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak. The brooding bouquet delivers pain grille, mineral, violet, scorched earth, pepper, espresso, black cherry and black raspberry aromas leading to a dense, opulent wine with gobs of savory fruit, ripe tannins, terrific concentration and a 60-second finish.

- 97 points -

The nose is luminous, with cassis, subtle mint, espresso, dark chocolate and dark, brooding fruit, The palate is medium- to full-bodied with an elegant thread of dark fruit and a succulent texture. The tannin structure is chiseled, supporting the pleasant, expressive fruit. A blend of 46% cabernet sauvignon, 43% malbec and 11% cabernet franc. Aged 18 months in barriques (60% new) and 18 months in bottles.

- 97 points -

Sweet tobacco, cigar box, berries and minerals. It gets a little zesty and citrusy on the nose. Really refined and juicy on the palate with lot of fine tannins. Silky, fluid and linear with a very elegant, soft-spoken finish. 46% cabernet sauvignon from Adrianna vineyard and 44% malbec and 10% cabernet franc from Nicasia vineyard. Really refined, long and Bordelais. This is already drinking really well, but it will hold like this for a long time.

- 97 points -

Fernando Buscema picked the components of Nicolás three weeks early to preserve acidity in 2020. The result is a brilliant release of this iconic red, made with Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc and a lowest ever 21% Malbec. Fine, detailed and ethereal, it has graphite and blackcurrant leaf aromas, cassis and blueberry fruit, subtle cigar box oak and remarkable palate length.

- 96 points -

Clean and crisp, a gorgeous almost sweet and juicy cherry aspect but aligned to super freshness with lots of salty minerality and present but not intrusive tannins. Concentrated, muscular, but chiseled. Feels really well made, full of life and energy, focus and detail. Cool and fresh too with mouthwatering acidity. Pure and refined but still absolutely giving a lot of flavour. Ends salty with touches of graphite and wet stone. I really like this, such a great expression.

- 96 points -

Nicolás is a finely crafted blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Malbec and 10% Cabernet Franc from Fernando Buscema, showcasing the contrasting terroirs of Gualtallary and Paraje Altamira. Appealingly international in style, it has lovely cigar box and coffee bean oak, layers of mint, violet and tarragon, granular, fine-boned tannins and harmonious chocolate, blackberry and blackcurrant leaf flavours.

- 95 points -

Loads of licorice and currants with a smoky, chocolate and coffee undertone. Aniseed, too. Sweet tobacco. It’s medium-to full-bodied with creamy tannins and a soft finish. It’s totally resolved and delicious now, in a bigger style. 78% cabernet sauvignon and 22% malbec.

- 95 points -

2020 was a very dry and low-yielding year, with 20% to 30% less crop, and the grapes were picked early. The 2020 Nicolás Catena Zapata was produced with a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc and 21% Malbec, higher in Franc than ever, for the first time more than Malbec, to compensate the warm and dry conditions. The wine is ripe and very peppery, with 13.9% alcohol and a pH of 3.64. It matured in new and second-use French oak barrels for 18 months. It was a healthy crop with concentration and ripeness, and the wine comes through as powerful and quite classical, still a little oaky, with power and balance.

- 95 points -

2005 was a cool vintage with generally low yields. This is made up of 78% Cabernet from Agrelo and Uco, and 22% Malbec from Gualtallary, aged for 24 months in French oak barriques. It has a deep, brooding, Cabernet-dominant nose with cassis, saddle leather, fig and cedar, and a very pretty, light floral touch. The palate has a dense, concentrated core with firm, rounded tannins. It's only just beginning to open up, revealing some leafy secondary characteristics. It will age majestically

- 94 points -

Richly scented on the nose. Concentrated and full on the palate, a serious wine with intention. Driving flavours of blackcurrant and black cherry with cinnamon spice and mineral saltiness abound on the palate with a touch of sweetness. Tannins are ripe and massy, plush and gently chewy but this has exceptional freshness that keeps the whole palate quite lifted and alive. Feels well worked and there is a sense of serious style to this. I like the expression - lovely nuance and finesse, the details are so appealing. Enjoy with some hearty food.

- 94 points -

A ripe, modern success with everything a fan of New World reds might want. The nose is floral and beautiful, with fine oak scents supporting brilliant raspberry, plum and spice aromas. It's deep, smooth and pressing in the mouth, with a delicious set of blackberry, coconut, vanilla and creamy flavors

- 92 points -

Rich and showy, with lots of licorice snap, plum sauce, graphite, boysenberry and milk chocolate notes all carried by rich, velvety tannins. The long, fleshy finish is very accessible. Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Drink now through 2011. 990 cases imported.

98+ points

Catena Zapata’s flagship is the Nicolas Catena Zapata, a Cabernet Sauvignon-Malbec blend. The 2004 Nicolas Catena Zapata is composed of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Malbec. It spent 18 months in 100% new French oak. A saturated black purple in color, it has an aristocratic perfume of pain grille, mineral, espresso, saddle leather, cassis, black currant, and black raspberry. Opulently textured, complex, ripe, and sweet on the palate, it maintains a sense of elegance as well as power. It demands 10-15 years of further cellaring and should still be providing pleasure at age 50. It strikes me as being Argentina’s equivalent of a great vintage of Lafite-Rothschild.

96 + Points

The 2021 Nicolás Catena Zapata was produced with a blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Malbec and 10% Cabernet Franc from Nicasia and Adrianna vineyards. It fermented in small oak barrels, concrete and stainless steel tanks and matured in 2,000-liter oak foudres for 18 months. It's a powerful but fresh red with 13.7% alcohol and mellow acidity, perhaps because the Cabernet Sauvignon was picked earlier (and with lower yields) and they discarded the clay soils and went more for stony plots. The wine feels more streamlined and elegant. 2021 is a cool and very good year, following the path of the 2019, and the wine shows the classical herbal and spicy character of the Bordeaux varieties with pungent notes of black peppercorns and is spicier because of the high Cabernet Franc content. 64,200 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2022.

95+

The 2022 Nicolás Catena Zapata blends 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Malbec and 10% Cabernet Franc from Gualtallary's Adrianna Vineyard and Altamira's Nicaisa Vineyard. It was fermented in stainless tanks and matured in large-format French oak. It opens with classic Bordelaise aromas of tobacco, espresso, graphite and a touch of creamy richness against a composed core of black fruits. The palate is enveloping and saturated, closing with a finish that straddles luscious, chewy and quenching. This is a stylistic yet impressive overview of Uco Valley that balances a contemporary profile with a firm nod to traditional classicism.

Dark, but very alluring, with inviting incense, warm espresso and molten chocolate cake notes up front, followed by hoisin sauce, graphite, mulled black currant and blackberry fruit flavors. The long finish courses with fruit and loads of buried grip.