CATENA - Malbec High Mountain Vines - 2018

CATENA

Malbec High Mountain Vines 2018

- 90 points -

Catena’s High Mountain Malbec is a blend of high-altitude, family owned vineyards situated in Maipú, Lujan de Cuyo, Tupungato and San Carlos. Two-thousand-and-eighteen is a good year, and you sense it as soon as the wine hits your palate. The precision you taste is a reflection of its mix of sites. Eighty-year-old vines in Lunlunta (Maipù) Vineyard lend soft, sweet textures. In Agrelo Vineyard (Luján de Cuyo), the Catena cuttings throw spice. The cold nights in Altamira (San Carlos) Vineyard lend bright, crisp acidity, and the intense sunshine in Gualtallary (Tupungato) Vineyard yields floral aromatics and structure. Simply a delicious mix of red and black fruits sprayed with umami deliciousness and finished with a touch of mocha-flavoured toasted oak. Turkey is an amazing match, but grilled steak is a more likely summer fare. Two-thousand-eighteen is Year 24 for a label now a million miles from where it began.

April 2021


About Gismondi on Wine

Anthony Gismondi is one of North America's most influential wine critics. Both a writer and broadcaster he is currently in his 25th year as wine columnist at the Vancouver Sun where his twice weekly wine columns and videos are seen by one million readers a week. His comprehensive and busy wine review websitewww.gismondionwine.com features over 20,000 tasting notes and attracts over a half million visitors a month from some 70 countries. He is also the co-host of the longest running, weekly, wine and food show in Canadian radio: The Best of Food and Wine. The show airs in prime time every Thursday evening from 6-7pm Pacific on CISL 650am.