"For some producers, the 2021 vintage, marked by rain in February that tempered temperatures during the March harvest, represents the closest thing to a Bordeaux year in Mendoza. In this sense, 2021 was an ideal vintage for Bordeaux grape varieties. This unique situation is clearly reflected in the Malbec Nicolás Vineyard 2021, which unveils a new label for this vintage after being aged for up to 21 months in French oak barrels. The wine is a blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Malbec, and 10% Cabernet Franc from vineyards in the Uco Valley. Deep purple in color with a garnet hue, it opens with delicate nuances of blackcurrant and ash, tobacco, black fruit, and cherry, similar to those of a Bordeaux wine. Expressive and compact, it offers notes of cedar on a long and persistent finish. 2025-2045." (Vinous 2024)
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Eye
Deep purple color, clear and bright
Nose
Mellow and nuanced, with an aromatic palette of blackcurrant, black cherry, tobacco, and white pepper, deliciously complex and spicy.
Mouth
Silky and elegant, it gradually reveals a magnificent balance and harmony. The flavors comfort the palate with their similarity to our Bordeaux blends, but offer a delicious spiciness right through to a persistent and textured finish.
Serve
At 16-18°C
Open
2 hours before
Drink from
2025
Drink before
2045
Food and wine pairings
Enjoy it with duck parmentier with truffles, thin slices of Wagyu beef, Argentinean meat asado...
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate
Wine rated (2023 guide) 96+/100 (Extraordinary wine)
Rated Recommended (Wine producer recommended by Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate)
About wine:
The Nicolás Catena Zapata 2021 was produced with a blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Malbec, and 10% Cabernet Franc from the Nicasia and Adrianna vineyards. It was fermented in small oak barrels, concrete and stainless steel tanks, and aged in 2,000-liter oak casks for 18 months. It is a powerful but fresh red, with an alcohol content of 13.7% and a soft acidity, perhaps because the Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested earlier (and with lower yields) and the clay soils were abandoned in favor of more stony plots. The wine is more fluid and elegant. 2021 is a cool and very good year, in line with 2019, and the wine has the classic herbaceous and spicy character of Bordeaux grape varieties, with pungent notes of black pepper, and is spicier due to the high Cabernet Franc content. 2024-2034
Jancis Robinson
Rated Recommended
Vinous
Wine rated (2024 guide) 96/100
About wine:
For some producers, the 2021 vintage, marked by some rain in February that tempered temperatures during the March harvest, represents the closest thing to a Bordeaux year in Mendoza. In this sense, 2021 was an ideal vintage for Bordeaux grape varieties. This unique situation is clearly reflected in the Malbec Nicolás Vineyard 2021, which unveils a new label for this vintage after being aged for up to 21 months in French oak barrels. The wine is a blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Malbec, and 10% Cabernet Franc from the vineyards of the Uco Valley. Deep purple in color with a garnet hue, it opens with delicate nuances of blackcurrant and ash, tobacco, black fruit, and cherry, similar to those of a Bordeaux wine. Expressive and compact, it has notes of cedar on a long and persistent finish. 2025-2045
James Suckling
Wine rated (2024 guide) 97/100
Rated Recommended
About wine:
Sweet tobacco, cigar box, berries, and minerals. The nose is slightly zesty and lemony. The palate is very refined and juicy, with lots of fine tannins. Silky, fluid and linear, with a very elegant and smooth finish. 46% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Adrianna vineyard and 44% Malbec and 10% Cabernet Franc from the Nicasia vineyard. Very refined, long and Bordeaux-style. This wine is already drinking very well, but will continue to do so for a long time.
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