Alta Malbec 2018

CATENA

Alta Malbec
2018

  • Sustainable

$92.79*

* Suggested retail price

16 case(s) available

Product code
521849
Format
6 x 750ml
Listing type
Private Retail - Special Order
Status
Available
Type of product
Still wine
Country
Argentina
Regulated designation
Dénomination origine (DOC)
Region
Mendoza
Varietal(s)
Malbec 100 %
Colour
Red
Sugar
Dry
Closure type
Cork
Producer's website

About this winery

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 award-winning...

See the CATENA detail page for more information on this brand

Product notes

Catena Alta is an assemblage of historic rows within the Catena family Estate vineyards. The blend of these historic rows, like the marriage of sounds that create a symphony, yields a highly aromatic and elegant wine that speaks for the earth and the vines that have been tended by the Catenas for four generations. The Catena Alta wines can usually be drunk starting at three years after harvest and into the following one to two decades.

Production notes

Vineyard lots are harvested at different times to ensure optimal natural acidity and moderate alcohol levels. Whole berries are hand loaded into small format fermentation bins and 225-500 L barrels; lots from each vineyard are treated individually; fermentation and maceration last for 28-30 days; cold maceration. Wild yeasts. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in barrel; wine undergoes active battonage to protect it and drastically reduce the amount of SO2 needed. Aged for 18 months in French oak.

Tasting notes

Catena Alta Malbec is deep violet in colour with indigo highlights. The nose has aromas of ripe red and blackberry fruits with notes of violets and lavender and hints of leather and a touch of spices. The wine is full-bodied and rich, with sweet tannins and a smooth structure, offering multiple layers of blackberries and black currant with hints of licorice, vanilla and black pepper.

Press reviews

James Suckling

- 95 points -

James Suckling, April 2020

Beautiful blackberries and green tea with some blueberries. Medium body with beautiful balance, freshness and whole-berry sensibility and brightness. Subtle and sophisticated. Drink or hold.

See detailed press review
Vinous

- 92 points -

Joaquín Hidalgo, October 2020

A Malbec from Mendoza made from a selection of parcels in different terroirs in Primera Zona and the Uco Valley that spent 18 months in French oak, this is complexity in a bottle. The ripe, layered, evolving nose delivers plum and violet notes followed by a hint of acidic cherry over a woody backdrop. Fleshy on the palate, it offers the good grip and volume typical of Malbec as part of a satisfying combination that also includes a terse texture and juicy freshness.

See detailed press review
Tim Atkin MW

- 92 points -

May 2020

Historic Rows hails from five different Mendoza sub-regions - Agrelo, Gualtallary, Lunlunta, Paraje Altamira and San Carlos - and is very much the quintessential Argentinian Malbec. Deeply coloured, intense and ripe, with supple, palate-caressing tannins, scented oak and aniseed and blackberry flavours.

See detailed press review