El Enemigo Malbec

Malbec bottle image

Wine Description

A joint venture between Adrianna Catena, daughter of Nicolas Catena, and Alejandro Vigil, Chief Winemaker at Bodega Catena Zapata, El Enemigo Malbec is produced at Piedemonte al Sur, located in the southern foothills of Uco Valley, Mendoza. The facility is named for the unique aspect of Mendoza's high altitude winemaking region nestled in the foothills of the Andes Mountains.

Alejandro Vigil
Adrianna
Aleanna Winery
Alejandro Vigil
Chacayes
Concrete Egg with Soil Map
Enemigo Vineyard
accordion plus icons
Acclaim
“Made with grapes from Gualtallary and aged for 15 months in old foudres, this Malbec, mixed with 10% Cabernet Franc, is proof of the beauty of the combination: the Franc lends the Malbec greater discipline and depth. Bright purple in the glass. The nose offers fresh cherries and plums with aromas of thyme. Gentle in the mouth, delivering fine, subtle tannins that lend framework, all with a genial freshness that brings the flavors to life and pleasantly stretches out the slightly taut palate. A delicious wine.”
— Vinous, Oct 2020
"The two varieties - and all comes from bony soils in Gualtallary in the upper part of the Uco Valley. Fermented with 50% whole bunches, this is all about fruit and flavour rather than wood, with real zip, freshness and vibrancy, chalky minerality and fine-grained tannins.”
— Tim Atkin, MW, May 2020
View more acclaim Arrow Right
accordion plus icons
Vineyard & Production Info
Production area/appellation:
Uco Valley
Soil composition
Calcareous, Rocky, and Sandy-Loam
Training method
Guyot
Elevation:
4,620-4,851 feet
Vines/acre:
1,800
Yield/acre:
0.8-1.0 tons
Year vineyard planted:
1986
Harvest time:
March-May
First vintage of this wine:
2008
Bottles produced of this wine:
40,000
accordion plus icons
Winemaking & Aging
Maceration length:
30
Varietal composition:
90% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Franc
Length of alcoholic fermentation:
20 days
Fermentation temperature:
84 °F
Type of aging container:
Barrels
Type of oak:
French
Length of aging before bottling:
15 Months if 100 year old foudre.
Total SO2
100
accordion plus icons
Analytical Data
pH level:
3.5
Acidity:
6.2 g/L
Alcohol:
13.5 %
Dry extract:
31.5 g/L
Total SO2
100
Residual sugar:
2.5 g/L