Nicolas Catena Zapata - Mendoza 2018

Anthocyanes

92 / 100

byYohan Castaingthe10/4/2021

Nez de cerise noire, de fleurs, de fruits frais, élégant et frais. Juteuse et savoureuse, la bouche est agréable, veloutée, fraiche et diablement gourmande. Très bel éclat de fruits noirs en finale. Loin des vins très boisés. Une beau vin.

Jane Anson

97 / 100

byJane Ansonthe9/1/2021

A sit up and take notice wine. Inky colour, smooth tannins, still young and crouched but already combining subtlety and confidence. On the palate, you get a wall of liquorice, crushed cardamom, rosemary, cassis, liqueur, all expertly delivered by winemaker Fernando Buscema. Sensational wine. Tasted twice, same impression each time, of a wine full of life and interest. Bottled unfiltered and unfined.
“Hold +5 years or carafe 3 hours”

timatkin.com

96 / 100

byTim Atkin MWthe4/21/2021

Wine Advocate

96 / 100

byLuis Gutierrezthe3/31/2021

The 2018 Nicolás Catena Zapata was produced with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon from Gualtallary (Adrianna vineyard, with the Cabernet Sauvignon interplanted with some Cabernet Franc) and 35% Malbec from Altamira (Nicasia vineyard). They no longer use grapes from Agrelo, and this is also a lot higher in Malbec than in other recent vintages. So, it has a very different profile, a change that started in 2017, with more contained ripeness and more freshness, and the wine is intense, keeping some of the Cabernet character (tobacco, blackberries) and the floral notes from Malbec. It comes through as balanced and harmonious, with very fine tannins and a long finish and perfect ripeness. This aims to revive the style of Bordeaux before phylloxera, from massal selection of ungrafted vines... 62,400 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2019.

Vinous

96 / 100

byJoaquin Hidalgothe10/1/2020

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec (35%) made from 210 micro-productions whose end result is approved by Nicolás Catena. A kind of summation of a long history, the grapes come from specific parcels of vineyards that Catena planted in the Uco Valley and Luján. The results are breathtaking. Purple in the glass with garnet flecks, this wine delivers layers of aroma, beginning with black currant and moving on to intense, precise notes of lavender and mint along with hints of black tea, sage and cigar box. In the mouth, austerity vies for supremacy with sheer power, a balance overseen by polished, grippy tannins placed into relief by a well-judged freshness that keeps the whole package light on its feet. This is a wine of tension foregrounded by the blend: the Malbec smooths out the Cabernet Sauvignon, which in turn brings energy to a red with an extremely long finish.

Jamessuckling.com

96 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe2/13/2020

Aromas of blackberries, grilled meat, blackcurrants and wet earth. Full-bodied, tight and compact with dense dark berries and currants. Linear and long with a tight, focused palate. A blend of cabernet sauvignon and malbec. Drink after 2022.