CATENA ZAPATA Malbec, Argentino - Uco Valley, Mendoza 2022 Bottle

Description

The Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino captivates with its saturated dark violet color and ruby reflections, presenting an inviting nose of cassis, blueberries, and violets, accompanied by earthy soil tones. With a stellar 98-point rating from James Suckling, it showcases an elegant, perfumed bouquet enriched by fresh blackberries and chocolate notes. The palate is super juicy, featuring compact fine tannins and an impressively long finish. Declared a 95-point wine by Decanter, it surprises with its complexity and drinkability, offering fresh cherry and plum alongside crunchy red apples. Wine Enthusiast notes its smooth, spiced profile with mulberry aromas and dark cherry flavors. This refined Malbec pairs beautifully with lamb chops or beef tenderloin and is best enjoyed from 2025 to 2030.

*****

JAMES SUCKLING 98 points
Elegant and perfumed nose with violets, spices, fresh blackberries, blueberries and touches of chiles, chocolate, cigar box and white pepper. Super juicy on the palate with compact, fine tannins and an extremely long finish. Drink or hold. - Zekun Shuai, Senior Editor

DECANTER 95 points
Tasted by: Ines Salpico
(at Landmark Hotel, London, 08 Nov 2025)
Drinking Window: 2025 - 2030
With its trademark dynamism, character and typicity, this Malbec surprises for its complexity married with drinkability. Fresh yet deep, it fills the mouth with juicy ripe cherry, plum, pink peach, pomegranate. Crunchy red apples adds a refreshing bite, offsetting the density of the soft tannins. Deft integration of wood and alcohol. Long finish with a spicy and vegetal rim.

WINE ENTHUSIAST 94 points
This refined Malbec boasts mulberry aromas and a delicate touch of clove on the nose. The palate is smooth and spiced, featuring juicy black fruit flavors wrapped in notes of vanilla bean and cinnamon. Optimal acidity elevates the dark cherry notes in a delightful, lingering finish. — Jesica Vargas

VINOUS 93 points
A blend of two origins—the warmer La Consulta and the cooler Paraje Altamira —the 2022 Malbec Argentino spent up to 12 months in French oak barrels. Purplish in hue, it reveals aromas of violets, plum and ripe dark fruit, alongside subtle smoky nuances. The oak is finely integrated, lending a creamy texture, plush tannins and a soft structure. This wine masterfully balances two distinct profiles — currently youthful yet velvety. It reinterprets the classic Mendoza Malbec style of the early 2000s. - Joaquín Hidalgo

THE WINE ADVOCATE 93 points
Drink Date: 2024 - 2030
The 2022 Malbec Argentino combines destemmed fruit from Lunlunta's Angélica Vineyard and Nicasia Vineyard in Altamira, and it was fermented with whole clusters. It leads with a rich, savory, black-fruited nose, introducing a similarly assertive and voluptuous palate. It concludes with a lush, staining and drying finish that retains the fine-grained precision that runs through the Catena Zapata roster.