The Wine Fairy

The fine wine was Argentine at The Wine Authority on Thursday. We hustled over after work to taste six wines from the Catena family in a presentation led by South American wine specialist Jorge Liloy.

Catena essentially created the market for Malbec, planting the first vines in 1902 and elevating a minor blending grape to one of the world’s most beloved and familiar varietals.

Generations later, the Catena family is trying to show the world that Argentina’s command of fine wine is not limited to their famously fruity Malbecs. Although–let’s be honest–that is the style that everybody knows and loves. (Admittedly, it was visions of Malbec that were dancing in my head the night before the tasting.) But Bodega Catena brought a whole ‘nother bag of tricks. A perfumed pink sparkler, a distinctive peppery Cabernet, and an arresting high-acid Chardonnay from the Andean foothills.

The first pour was a non-Argentine, non-boozy wine with a Catena family connection: The EdeM N.0 ROSAE. This is a low-calorie, rose flower-infused, alcohol-removed wine beverage with a light effervescence.

The “EdeM” in the name stands for Elena de Mendoza, in honor of the mother of winery director Dr. Laura Catena. Dr. Catena created the product for her mom, who found that she needed to cut back on wine for health reasons. Delicate and crisp with pronounced floral aromas, it’s based on 100% Airén sourced in La Mancha, Spain. It tastes better than similar low/no alcohol products that I’ve tried…but the crowd at the wine bar is such that the conversation quickly turned to what booze we would mix it with.

Next up was an invigorating high-altitude Chardonnay, the “White Stones” single-vineyard bottling. Extremely limited in its production (around 500 cases annually), it’s made from 27 rows in the Adrianna Vineyard in Tupungato. The elevation is over 4500 feet, a remote stony parcel sitting atop a dormant volcano.

The “White Stones” Chardonnay is beautifully fragrant with jasmine and magnolia, vibrant lemon, and white peach. A touch of malolactic and neutral oak tempers its outrageous brightness. A hint of creaminess in the mouth with butter cake, yellow mango/peach, tangerine zest, and a lip-smacking mineral finish with the acidity dialed up to 11. It’s lean but layered, and incredibly concentrated.

This Chardonnay retails for around $150–which is a lot for me, but not in a different bracket than say, Grand Cru Burgundy. (Dare we compare? Let’s! The Catena presenter declined to discuss Argentine Chard in the same breath as any other wine region, while another sales rep compared “White Stones” favorably to Meursault. With its driving acidity and minerality, it reminded me the most of a fine Chablis, but with more aromatic range.)

Next, we tasted two 2021 reds from the “Historic Rows” collection: The Malbec followed by the Cabernet Sauvignon. These are blends of favorite rows from Catena family vineyards located at differing altitudes across the Mendoza region.

The “Historic Rows” Malbec is purple and delicate on the nose with crushed rose, potpourri, plum, Concord grape, black cherry, and just a tinge of smoke. The taste is fresh-fruited with supple tannins and lingering perfume of violet and rose.

I’m leaning toward this kind of floral, more medium-bodied Malbec lately. It’s light enough to sip before a meal without coating your mouth entirely. Besides, I always taste with value in mind (I can’t help it), and I felt that this mid-priced bottle held its own beside the two super-premium reds on the bartop.

Next, a Cab from the same vintage. The “Historic Rows” Cabernet Sauvignon (blended with ~7% Cabernet Franc) manages to be both completely ripe in its fruit and distinctly vegetal at the same time–really interesting! The nose has fragrant cedar and pyrazine spiciness without any greenness. Roasted ancho pepper and rye toast open the way for smooth blackberries and currants. Beneath a dark Cab-y mantle of black fruit, it’s hiding raspberry, Turkish figs, and even strawberry. It’s a fascinating wine, and one I’ll definitely return to when I have more time to explore it.

The final pair of wines were Catena’s high-scoring showstoppers, beginning with the 2022 “Argentino” Malbec. This wine gets a lot of attention for its striking, symbolic label–and understandably so.

The elaborate illustration pays tribute to to Argentina’s signature grape, personified by four female figures. Allegorical images show the migration of the spirit of Malbec (“The Immigrant”) from the French court of Eleanor of Aquitaine, through the deadly trials of winter freezes and phylloxera, to the temperate and sunny paradise of Mendoza and into the hands of the Catena family.

It’s as heavy and poetic as the “Life, Death, and Rebirth” design would suggest. “Argentino” is a deep saturated purple with staining tears. Aromas of dried rose, ripe plum, black cherry, and wild blackberry are anchored by toasty chocolate notes. This is the first wine on the tasting where new oak is a noticeable presence, lending tongue-tickling sweet spices and enhancing the tannic structure of the soft, plush fruit. It’s 100% Malbec, blended from parcels sited across Mendoza. The oldest vines, from the Angélica Vineyard, were planted in about 1930.

The final pour was Catena’s flagship product, the 2020 Nicolás Catena Zapata. Known to the world as Argentina’s first luxury wine, it tries to re-create the lost flavors of 18th- and 19th-century Bordeaux.

Traditionally, the blend uses cuttings from pre-phylloxera clones and a generous helping of Malbec. But that’s not a rule, and 2020 was a hot vintage. For the first time, Catena used more Cab Franc than Malbec in order to keep the wine in balance.

It opens with classic Cabernet aromas of blackcurrant, cedar, and tobacco. But then, it splashes out of the cigar box with a wave of exuberant blue and black fruit. Full-bodied, velvety, and complex, it reveals one of Argentina’s secret superpowers: Bordeaux-style wines that you can age if you choose to, but that don’t demand your patience. (Well, not too much patience anyway. Like the “Argentino” Malbec, the “Nicolás” spends two years resting in French oak barrels, giving its juicy berries more dimension and gravitas.) The 2020 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (54%), Cabernet Franc (25%), Malbec (21%).

I’m so glad I got to try these wines! My wife and I already love Catena–their Vista Flores Malbec is a no-brainer when we see it on a by-the-glass menu–and it was a pleasure to taste some of the higher-end bottlings that really do rival the classic wines of France. We left with purple teeth and happy hearts.

Further reading:

The World of Fine Wine: Climb every mountain: The Catena story

Catena Zapata: Malbec Argentino: Ten Centuries of Life, Death, and Rebirth

Wines tasted:

EdeM N.0 ROSAE (NV) – $25

Catena Zapata Adrianna Vineyard “White Stones” Chardonnay (2022) – $150

Catena Alta “Historic Rows” Malbec (2021) – $57

Catena Alta “Historic Rows” Cabernet Sauvignon (2021) – $50

Cantena “Argentino” Malbec (2022) – $105

Nicolás Catena Zapata (2020) – $125

Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review (except for the tasting included with my membership at The Wine Authority). Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.