Malbec Appellation Paraje Altamira
2022
At heart, Catena is a story about family. Family who poured their lives, passion, and spirit into transforming scrub-laden desert into some of the most beautiful and unique vineyards in the world. Family that passed their knowledge from generation to generation, blending collective memory with state-of-the-art science from the new world of viticulture. Family who, through risk-taking, faith, and a little luck, transformed their treasured Mendoza terroir into the fountainhead of the...
See the CATENA detail page for more information on this brand
Paraje Altamira Vineyard: Alluvial origin. Loamy soil, with rounded rocks on the bottom (80% Sand - 10% Clay - 10% Silt)
This wine goes through cold maceration for 3-8 days at 50°F (10°C). The juice is then fermented for 12-18 days with a post-fermentation maceration of 4-10 days. 6-8 months in French oak barrel (25-40% new, 2nd and 3rd use barrels).
Restrained on the nose with vibrant blueberries enhanced by a delicate spicy note. Smooth palate, juicy, with fine grained tannins and a chalky sensation, bursting with bright red and dark fruits lingering nicely.
See detailed press review
Showing the freshness and minerality that’s often a feature of Altamira wines, this is the finest and most focused of the Catena appellation Malbecs. Sappy and tangy, with sculpted tannins and scented plum, damson and blackberry fruit underpinned by a chalky bite.
See detailed press review
The 2022 Malbec Catena Appellation Paraje Altamira comes from the Uco Valley. Aged for up to 13 months in French oak barrels (both new and used), this purple-hued wine reveals crystal-clear, fruit-forward aromas with hints of balsamic and lavender. On the palate, it is dry, rich and juicy, delivering intense flavors and supple textures.
See detailed press review
Bright, full ruby. Very ripe aromas of black fruits, smoky minerals and bitter chocolate, plus a whiff of truffley forest floor. Sweet, supple and quite dense, but showing terrific inner-mouth lift for such a ripe wine. With its crushed-berry flavors, this wine shows the most obvious early sweetness of these appellation-labeled Malbecs. The substantial tannins arrive late and build, giving the wine the support for a slow evolution in bottle. But there's no austerity even today.
See detailed press review
Bright medium ruby. Very ripe but not roasted on the nose, offering complex aromas of blackberry, black raspberry, mocha, bitter chocolate, pepper and menthol. Wonderfully pliant and refined, showing subtle inner-mouth lift and harmonious acidity to its flavors of black and purple berries and minerals. Boasts a compellingly smooth texture for the year, along with lovely restrained sweetness. Finishes with suave tannins and superb slow-rising length. This very classy, delineated wine is a great example of how Malbec could shine in 2016 on well-drained high-altitude sites in the Uco Valley.
See detailed press review