2006 Nicolas Catena Zapata
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Tasting notes
(14.5% alcohol; 5.79 g/l acidity; 3.62 pH): Bright ruby-red. A bit narrower and less ripe on the nose than the 2005 version, offering scents of medicinal black fruits and mint. Then sweet, plush and chocolatey in the mouth; in a rather powerful style but showing considerable Malbec sex appeal and inner-mouth lift to its flavors of dark fruits, flowers and spices. Finishes with substantial ripe, suave tannins, an element of saline complexity and noteworthy Cabernet grip. According to winemaker Vigil, this wine was very tannic at the beginning. It's approachable today but still has plenty of positive evolution ahead.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jay S Miller, Wine Advocate
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(70% cabernet sauvignon and 30% malbec) Full, bright ruby. Black cherry, dark raspberry, cassis and a whiff of graphite on the very ripe but reticent nose. Then sweet, creamy and suave on the palate, more sappy and less open-knit than the Argentino malbec but utterly seamless nevertheless. Very long and firmly tannic on the aftertaste. This wonderfully plump, deep, elegantly styled wine showed even stronger fruit, and a slightly liqueur-like chocolatey ripeness, after 48 hours in the recorked bottle.
The 2006 Nicolas Catena Zapata is composed of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Malbec and spent 26 months in new French oak. It displays a superb perfume of pain grille, spice box, truffle, wild flowers, black cherry, and black currant. Rich, layered, dense, and complex, it, too, combines elegance and power. The wine is structured for the long haul and should easily see its 25th birthday, with 50 not out of the question. There is no track record, and I won’t be around to find out. Importer: Winebow, Inc., Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620
The 2006 Nicolas Catena Zapata is composed of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Malbec and spent 26 months in new French oak. It displays a superb perfume of pain grille, spice box, truffle, wild flowers, black cherry, and black currant. Rich, layered, dense, and complex, it, too, combines elegance and power. The wine is structured for the long haul and should easily see its 25th birthday, with 50 not out of the question. There is no track record, and I won’t be around to find out. Aug 2009, www.robertparker.com
About the producer
Bodega Catena Zapata has been instrumental both in the development of fine wine production in Argentina and in realising the full potential of the Malbec grape.