La Marchigiana Bonarda

La Marchigiana Bonarda

Wine Description

La Marchigiana honors the natural and sulfite-free homemade wine legacy with this very limitied production.   In 1898, Nicola Catena arrived in Argentina from Le Marche, Italy, bringing with him the family tradition of creating natural wines, preserved only by their own tannins. It is a "naked wine", in which only the grapes and terroir speak.

Once settled in Argentina, Nicola embraced the practice of fermenting wine in Clay pots. Widely spread in the Cuyo region, this practice dates back to Colonial times where wine was made from Criolla grapes in amphoras and "botijas

Remington-Mendoza
Laura Catena sits at a table with a glass of wine
Malbec Grapes
Alejandro Vigil (Chief Winemaker) and Laura Catena Tasting
Malbec Clone in La Piramide Vineyard
Nicolás Catena
Bodega Catena Zapata
Bodega Catena Zapata
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Acclaim
“Part of an impressive range of natural wines from Ale Vigil and the Catenas, this unoaked Bonarda is made with fruit from eastern Mendoza. Fresh and juicy, it has sappy liquorice, plum and blueberry flavours and tangy supporting acidity.”
— Tim Atkin, MW, May 2021
“Lots of crushed berries and hints of walnuts and mahogany. Some thyme. It’s soft and round with pleasing tannins and a fruity, creamy-textured finish. No sulfur added. Fermented and aged in amphora. So delicious now.”
— James Suckling, Mar 2021
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Vineyard & Production Info
Vineyard name
Finca La Vendimia, Rivadavia
Soil composition
Loamy, alluvial and eolic
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Winemaking & Aging
Time on its skins:
19 days
Varietal composition:
100% Bonarda
Fermentation container:
Clay Pots
Length of alcoholic fermentation:
19 days
Fermentation temperature:
71-74 °F
Fining agent:
Not fined
Type of aging container:
Clay Pots
Length of aging before bottling:
8 Months
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Analytical Data
pH level:
3.5
Acidity:
6 g/L
Alcohol:
12.8 %
Residual sugar:
2.37 g/L
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Wine Production

Extremely Limited Production-US Allocation 

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About the Vineyard

La Marchigiana was Nicola Catena’s label, used in the oak barrels containing bulk winethat were sent to Buenos Aires to be sold in the finest restaurants of that time. This label has been hanging at the winery and at Nicolás Catena Zapata’s office since Laura and Adrianna Catena were children.

La Marchigiana stands for the women from Le Marche and that iswhy there is a woman harvesting and handing grapes to a man with a basket on the label.

The style is early 20th century and the label says Bodega y Viñedos Nicolás Catena, because Nicola Catena was made to change his name to Nicolás when he became an Argentine citizen.

Laura observes that it was a smart idea to celebrate women harvesting since hergreat-grandfather’s wife, Ana Mosceta de Catena was also from Le Marche and loved her vines.  Because of this, Laura’s great- grandfather use to call her his “vine whisperer”.