Reviews of Some Catena Zapata Wines

Catena Malbec

100% Malbec
$17-$25 for the 2006 on Wine-searcher. $15-$20 for the 2007.
Good Value

I tasted this wine at a restaurant that did not label the year, so I don’t know it exactly, but it should be either the 2006 or 2007.

Nice, dark, ruby color. Apparently on the older side, since it has so many purplish reflections.

Strong floral and especially oaky aroma.

Goes down very smoothly. Bitterness doesn’t hit at once, but rather is picked up by the palate as you savor the wine. The tannins are rather soft, giving a soft, smooth oakiness to the wine, especially in the finish. The wine causes a nice puckering feel. It is a bit too intense and somewhat one-dimensional, but it is good nonetheless, especially at this price.

8.8/10. 9/10 for value. Good price for a good Malbec.
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DV Catena Syrah
100% Syrah
Not available on Wine-searcher.

I wasn’t able to get the year for this wine, but it should be relatively new, i.e. a 2007 or 2008.

Nice color for a relatively cheap wine. Almost completely black.

Great aroma of black fruits and pepper.

Taste is a little one-dimensional. Nice, strong, cherry, bittersweet tannin taste. Pleasant, though not the best. Has a light finish. Light body too. Great aftertaste. A bit spicy at end, adding some complexity. Overall though, a bit too bitter and too unstructured.

8.5/10. Not bad for a cheap, ordinary drink.
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Ángelica Zapata Chardonnay 2004
100% Chardonnay
Not available on Wine-searcher.

Beautiful color, with golden tints. Nice, greenish tints.

What an aroma! Sweet plums and cherries, very deceptively fruity. It has the typical Chardonnay freshness and fruitiness to it.

The taste is very soft and smooth. It has just a tad of spiciness. It’s so easy to drink that it’s like water, but with a bit of citrus and tang to it. Very light as well. The fruitiness complements the lightness of the wine very well. There are also some hints of fresh plums, cherries, and lemons, giving the wine a lot of complexity, which is something I haven’t seen too much in Argentine whites.

9.0/10, though its value isn’t too great by Argentine standards.

The regular Catena Malbec is indeed good value and hits the sweet spot. I find the entire Alamos line, right below, basically undrinkable, and the DV and other "higher" cuvees mostly just overoaked, overripened, overextracted versions of the basic Malbec (I see the same phenomenon at Terrazas and other commercially successful producers; Weinert is going to the dark side and Bodegas Lopez is the only leftover from classic Argentine wine). What might be interesting to include more detail about in your future reviews, since you are exploring the niche, is the acidity, nearly always added, nearly always separate from the fruit, even when quantitatively in balance. That, and the massive purple spoofing playing everywhere in Mendoza, has gradually turned me off most of these wines over the last couple of years (I had the Torrontes you mention in the other post two weeks ago and it seemed to me both acidulated AND out of balance).

I'll try to provide some reviews with more detail. It's unfortunate because I was learning by tasting, and Argentina was really my first experience in the wine world. So there's a gradual progression in my reviews to more and more detail, which isn't going to get here.

I will say, though, that balance is something that doesn't come to Argentines. I've noticed the culture in general emphasizes very bold flavors, and I in part have picked up that taste for strong wines, even if they're a bit on the harsh side. Even the best Malbecs in the country are sometimes so intense that I wouldn't be able to recommend them to the average consumer, even though they're phenomenal wines in my opinion.

And while I do agree that some wineries are starting to sell out, I would say that the quality of Argentine wines is improving in general. We're just unlucky that we're stuck with all the worst exports. I'll try to provide you with some niche wines that might just so happen to change your mind about what the Argentines are capable of.

Thanks for the feedback!