CATENA ZAPATA Malbec 'River Stones' Adrianna Vineyard - Gualtallary, Uco Valley, Mendoza 2019 Bottle (los)

Description

Catena Adrianna Vineyard River Stones Malbec 2019 is an exceptional wine that has garnered acclaim, earning 99 points from The Wine Advocate and 98 points from James Suckling. The Catena family has cultivated vines in Mendoza for over four generations, with the Adrianna vineyard situated at nearly 5,000 feet. This cuvée comes from a distinctive stony parcel, benefiting from optimal drainage and temperature regulation. The wine is aromatic, featuring notes of violets, wet stones, and rich blackberries, with fine tannins offering a smooth, chalky finish. Jancis Robinson awarded it 17.5 points, appreciating its floral complexity and roundness. Well-balanced and fresh, this Malbec is ideal for enjoyment now or aging gracefully for years to come.

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For over four generations, the Catena family has grown vines in the foothills of the Andes Mountains in Mendoza, Argentina. In his pursuit to make wines that stand with the best in the world, Nicolás Catena identified the best lots and rows, in the Catena family’s estate vineyards.

The Adrianna vineyard is located at almost 5,000’ elevation in the Gualtallary sub-district of the Tupungato region.

This cuvée takes its name from a small parcel of the Adrianna Vineyard that is completely covered with oval white stones and was the site of an ancient riverbed. The abundant stones provide optimal drainage and extreme temperatures. They absorb heat and moderate the nights, but also function like ice cubes after a very cold night. Stony soil Malbecs tend to be extremely aromatic, rich and luxurious, just like the River Malbec from Adrianna. This wine can be enjoyed young or aged for decades.

At this extreme high altitude, the nights are cool, only a few degrees above freezing even in the summer. The night-day temperature difference is between 15 and 20 degrees. And the sunlight is more intense because of the altitude.

THE WINE ADVOCATE 99 points
Reviewed by: Luis Gutiérrez
Drink Date: 2023 - 2034
The old River Stones has seen its name simplified to 2019 Adrianna Vineyard River. This is an exceptional vintage for this bottling, from a very stony part of the large Adrianna Vineyard in Gualtallary, close to the dry river. It's the equivalent to the White Stones white, with a north-facing exposure, the warmer exposure, which in cooler years like 2019 works nicely. The wine has harmony and subtleness, insinuating violets and wet stones, with a rare combination of power and elegance, with minerality and spice, precise, focused and harmonious. The tannins are abundant but very fine and ripe with a chalky sensation in the finish. It has 13.8% alcohol and very good freshness, acidity and healthy parameters. 5,520 bottles were filled in December 2020.

I also tasted the 2017, 2015 and 2012 of this wine, and they are developing slowly. The 2017 has very strong notes of thyme and aromatic herbs; 2015 has nuances of paprika and is ripe and powerful; and the 2012, which I had never tasted before, is serious, reaching its plateau and showing a moment of transition from barrel to foudres.

Some of the vineyards from Catena are suffering from phylloxera, and parts of some vineyards have to be grubbed up and replanted.
Published: Nov 30, 2022

JAMES SUCKLING 98 Points
So bright and aromatic with flowers and blackberries, as well as some black olives. Full-bodied with lots of tannins, yet they are so fine and integrated and spread across the palate. This is all whole-cluster fermentation and 18 months in large oak casks. Needs about four or five years to come together.

JANCIS ROBINSON 17.5 points
Quite different from the Mundus Bacillus and Fortuna Terrae. More floral, with notes of lavender. Richer, fuller, denser black cherry, dustier tannin structure and sweet oak. More intense and round, not quite as delicate. (SCJ)