Domaine Nico

Brand Description

Domaine Nico is the world's first extreme high-altitude parcela Pinot Noir. It is an unusual location for the New World with limestone soil of alluvial origin and cool climate and a labor of love for the Catena family.

The vineyard is named after Laura's daughter, Nicola, whose name pays homage to Nicola Catena, Laura's great-grandfather and founder of the Catena winery in 1902.

Laura has been in love with Pinot Noir since her first travels to France as a teenager. A self-avowed francophile, Laura studied French throughout university. She has a lifelong obsession with authors Sartre and Camus, as well as with the Louvre and the Centre Georges Pompidou, where she has spent countless hours.

With Domaine Nico, Laura borrows from France in the names of the wine parcels and in the concept of individual terroirs, but also plays with the words to give the wines a modern twist that’s reflective of their style.

Location of Vineyard

With 3,675 to 4,921 feet of elevation, Domaine Nico is the world's first extreme high-altitude parcela Pinot Noir. Parcels are extremely small and range within the Uco Valley from Villa Bastais to Gualtallary all within the Tupungato region. With Domain Nico, the Uco Valley proves itself to be a new terroir for the highest quality Pinot Noir.

Winemaking Philosophy

Domine Nico grapes are sources from small parcels through 15 different microvinifications. All mincrovinifications were fermented with indigenous yeasts, some with whole cluster. The wine ages in French Oak barels with low production across each.

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“Seductive, beautifully scented and nuanced, with fascinating aromas of smoky raspberries, thyme, blood orange, sous-bois and sea urchins. There’s a faint caramel undertone, too. This is a round, full-bodied, extremely serious and tense pinot with taut, chalky tannins. Savory, complex and transparent. It keeps going for minutes. Incredibly attractive now, but you can lay it down for 5-7 years, to wait for more complexity coming ahead. Mind-blowing!”
— acclaim for 2020 Domaine Nico Le Paradis from James Suckling, Mar 2022

“The nose of the 2020 Le Paradis Pinot Noir shows tons of orange peel and flowers, denoting freshness and good ripeness with 13.5% alcohol. It's a very good and impressive performance of a warm year in a cold place at 1,500 meters above sea level. The plot was planted with Dijon clones on sandy shallow soils and then pure limestone. The grapes fermented with 80% full clusters and had short macerations, and the wine matured in used 500-liter barrels that were used before for the White Bones and White Stones from Catena. It's varietal, showy and a bit spicy with a very solid and seamless palate. It finishes with a strong chalky sensation.”
— acclaim for 2020 Domaine Nico Le Paradis from Wine Advocate, Nov 2022

“The 2021 Pinot Noir La Savante from Gualtallary, Uco Valley was aged for 15 months in 35% new barrels. Ruby red in the glass. The exotic nose presents notes of match, wet stone, sour cherry and earth with hints of sweet spice and layers of oak. In the mouth, it’s silky, taut and compact with energetic freshness and mellow but sustained flavor that grows more potent toward the end. The 2021 is a little jewel of a wine thanks in good part to the cool year. Will improve wonderfully in the bottle.”
— acclaim for 2021 Domaine Nico La Savante from Vinous, Nov 2022

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