- 98 points -

Perfumed and seductive nose of purple plums, blueberries, dried roses, violets, lemon zest, chocolate, truffles and cigar box. It’s full-bodied, yet so elegant and weightless. Seamless, finely knit tannins. Beautiful, lengthy finish.

- 98 points -

Elegant and perfumed nose with violets, spices, fresh blackberries, blueberries and touches of chiles, chocolate, cigar box and white pepper. Super juicy on the palate with compact, fine tannins and an extremely long finish

- 97 points -

The 2008 Argentino Malbec is a blend of 65% Adrianna and 35% Nicasia fruit. It, too, spent 24 months in 100% new French oak. The Argentino offers a similar aromatic and flavor profile but with just a bit of extra nuance, presumably because of the blending. Dense, rich, and voluptuous, this lengthy effort should easily achieve its 20th birthday in peak form. It will be most enjoyable to taste these three wines side-by-side in another 10-15 years.

- 97 points -

Lots of blackberry and blueberry aromas with licorice, too. Extremely aromatic. Full-bodied, layered and deep. Superb richness and balance, at the same time. Really great. Drink or hold.

- 96 points -

The very young but already harmonious 2021 Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino has one of the showier labels from the Catena portfolio. 2021 was a cooler year, as cold as 2016, but instead of a wet year like 2016, it was dry. The wine is juicy and reveals a vibrant palate and very clean and focused aromas and flavors. It's clean and precise with varietal aromas of violets, ripe berries and herbs and a spicy touch from the élevage in oak. It's another great vintage for this blend of grapes from the vineyards of Angélica (Lunlunta) and Nicasia (Altamira). It's nicely textured and tasty, medium to full-bodied and with a vibrant finish.

- 96 points -

A really well-balanced malbec here that is slightly spicier and richer. Black cherries, dark olives and some violets. Fleshy and almost full-bodied on the palate with juicy, naturally rendered fruit and very fine-grained tannins. Balance is the word.

- 95 points -

The 2020 Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino follows the path of the 2019, harvested early and fermented with 100% full clusters in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in oak vats and some barrels for 12 to 18 months. It's juicy, powerful and with abundant tannins and a slight earthiness. It's a little more voluptuous and mixes grapes from Angélica (Lunlunta) and some from Nicasia (Altamira). 45,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2021.

- 95 points -

This is still demure and deep despite the fruit ripeness. Cedary wood with savory plums, berries, dry earth and truffles. Still pretty full-bodied with rich, savory fruit and aged complexity. Lots of tannins here but they have started to mellow. It lingers well. This is still developing, but it is arguably getting close to its peak. Lots of complexity here. Drink or hold. Plenty of life still ahead of it.

- 94 points -

#19

This Malbec has a good balance of fruit and herbs with a delicate structure. The nose displays notes of berries and aromatic herbs that repeat on the palate. A smooth texture and lively acidity hold raspberry, blackberry and blueberry flavors with hints of smoke. It has an elegant finish with subtle notes of chocolate.

- 94 points -

Argentino combines raw material from two sources - the Angélica Vineyard in Lunlunta and the Nicasia Vineyard in Paraje Altamira. It’s a seamlessly blended cuvée, all bramble, summer pudding and blackberry flavours, with a sheen of one-third new wood and the concentration and density to age further in bottle

- 94 points -

Argentino is a 50/50 blend of Malbecs from the Angélica Vineyard in Lunlunta and the Nicasia Vineyard in Paraje Altamira. Fermented with 45% whole bunches, it’s smooth, supple and well-appointed, showing bramble, raspberry and mulberry flavours, understated oak spices and supple, caressing tannins.

- 94 points -

Argentino is a Malbec made from two vineyards: Adrianna in Tupungato and Nicasia in Vista Flores/Altamira. Aged for two years in new oak, it's a dark, vibrant masculine wine with excellent depth of flavor, seductive berry flavors, and lots of length. It hits with force but also finesse, and it shows the extracted richness that comes from small-lot open bin fermentation.

- 94 points -

Argentino is an equal blend of Malbecs from the Angélica Vineyard in Lunlunta and the Nicasia Vineyard in Paraje Altamira. Matured in foudres and one-third new wood, it’s a rich, supple, glossy style with a touch of whole bunch spices, succulent bramble, blackberry and raspberry coulis flavours and fine-grained, savoury tannins.

98+ points

The single-vineyard 2004 Malbec “Argentino Vineyard” spent 17 months in new French oak. Remarkably fragrant and complex aromatically, it offers up aromas of wood smoke, creosote, pepper, clove, black cherry, and blackberry. Made in a similar, elegant style, it is the most structured of the three single vineyard wines, needing a minimum of a decade of additional cellaring. It should easily prove to be a 25-40 year wine. It is an exceptional achievement in Malbec. When all is said and done, Catena Zapata is the Argentina winery of reference – the standard of excellence for comparing all others. The brilliant, forward-thinking Nicolas Catena remains in charge, with his daughter, Laura, playing an increasingly large role. The Catena Zapata winery is an essential destination for fans of both architecture and wine in Mendoza. It is hard to believe, given the surge in popularity of Malbec in recent years, that Catena Zapata only began exporting Malbec to the United States in 1994.