Catena Alta Malbec
Catena Alta Malbec
In the 1990s, Catena set a new standard for Argentine wine by investigating the yields from specially selected, high-altitude vineyards and identifying the individual rows that produce the best fruit. These vines undergo a careful thinning process, leaving only a select few clusters, resulting in remarkably complex, aromatic, and flavorful fruit.
With these wines, Catena Zapata continued their pioneering efforts, being the first to release Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay of this quality from Mendoza’s high-altitude wine country. The Alta wines are unfined and unfiltered. They can typically be drunk starting three years after harvest but continue to develop for another ten to twenty years.
Tasting Notes
Cassis, violets, blackcurrant, and blackberries are interwoven with licorice, vanilla, leather, and black pepper. Its silky finish is marked by a wonderful minerality, fine tannins, and lively acidity.
In the 1990s, Catena set a new standard for Argentine wine by investigating the yields from specially selected, high-altitude vineyards and identifying the individual rows that produce the best fruit. These vines undergo a careful thinning process, leaving only a select few clusters, resulting in remarkably complex, aromatic, and flavorful fruit.
With these wines, Catena Zapata continued their pioneering efforts, being the first to release Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay of this quality from Mendoza’s high-altitude wine country. The Alta wines are unfined and unfiltered. They can typically be drunk starting three years after harvest but continue to develop for another ten to twenty years.
Tasting Notes
Cassis, violets, blackcurrant, and blackberries are interwoven with licorice, vanilla, leather, and black pepper. Its silky finish is marked by a wonderful minerality, fine tannins, and lively acidity.
Brand Materials
Vineyard & Production Info
Winemaking & Aging
About the Vineyard
Every vineyard has a sweet spot: a series of rows that yield the best quality fruit. Differences in soil structure, clonal selection, row orientation, slope, or vine density result in wines with a one-of-a-kind character, concentration, and personality. Catena has spent the last 30 years extensively mapping their estate vineyards to uncover these lots. The winery farms and vinifies each lot separately to showcase its unique expression. The blend of these rows, like the blend of musical notes that compose a symphony, creates a wine that is layered and complex, concentrated yet nuanced.
Catena Alta Malbec is from Lot 18 of the Angélica vineyard, Lot 4 of the La Pirámide vineyard, Lot 1 of the Nicasia vineyard, Lot 6 of the Angélica Sur vineyard, and Lot 9 of the Adrianna vineyard.