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+--- Thread: Catena Alta Malbec Component Tasting (/thread-14871.html)
- VouvrayHead - 05-16-2007
Last night I had the fascinating opportunity
to taste Catena Zapata's masterpiece, the Catena Alta Malbec ($45), and each lot component on their own. Every wine was 2004 vintage.
They get 330+ days of sun, so by irrigating they control the water. They use heaters if there is frost warning, and they have very few insects, so no sprays. They want as much control over the vines as possible, due to the unusual conditions, but in winemaking just try to let the juice and land speak.
They bottled 150 cases of component packs to do this tasting throughout the world. The focus was on how elevation and vine age go affect the final product.
We started with the lowest elevation and the oldest vines, 70-80 years old at 1/2 a mile above sea level.
Angelica Lot 18. It was very lush and silky, the mouth feel was the most impressive thing here. The wine was leathery, with some chocolate and light red fruits. The flavors were very concentrated, but not too heavy. Easy-going tannins considering youth of the wine. One of the two best drinking wines on its own.
La Piramide Lot 4- This is the vineyard where the winery is located. 23 yr old vines, 3100 ft. elevation. rich, well-focused nose. black fruits, spicy black pepper, a good deal of tannins, somehwat clunky on the finish.
Altamira Lot 1, 3870 ft. elevation, 8 yr old vines. Beautiful perfumed nose, lavender, mint, licorice, very floral. not a whole lot of fruit, but a bit of red fruits but more chocolate and floral flavors un the mouth. Juicy acidity and medium tannins. My favorite of the individual components.
Adrianna Lot 9&3. These last two are from the same vineyard, 5000 ft. elevation, 12 yr. vines. Lot 9 is 200 ft. lower than lot 3, and was picked 1 week earlier. Totally different wines!
9: VERY dark color, big fruit on the nose, very acidic and chunky tannins at the back.
3: Again, dark color, slightly hot nose, lots of licorice and slightly gamey aromas. A huge wine, rich, spicey, berries and black fruit flavors. Tannins are massive, but not too abrasive (long chains), VERY long finish.
And the final product:
Catena Alta Malbec 2004.
A really nice wine, the nose has both floral and fruity qualities, and the wine is spicy with dark fruits and chocolate. Way better balanced than any of the single lots, there's a nice acidity to give the wine lift, and while tannic (this would be better in a few more years), it's very attractive now. Spicy, rich, and again a very long finish.
70-80% of the wine is Altamira or Adrianna, with Adrianna Lot 3 leading the way, and 10% each from Angelica and Piramide.
A fascinating and very educational tasting!
After that we did informal tasting of many other Catena wines.
Most impressive were the awesome $10 Torrontes, and at $15, the best S. American Pinot Noir I've had (only had a handful, this is the first one I really liked), both from the Alamos Seleccion label.
The Catena Alta Chardonnay was gorgeous, though too much malolactic and oak for my individual taste, and the Alta Cab was very nice, though not as interesting as the Malbec.
Cheerio!
[This message has been edited by VouvrayHead (edited 05-16-2007).]
- dananne - 05-16-2007
Sounds like a good time, and a cool opportunity to taste the components -- thanks for the notes!
- wondersofwine - 05-16-2007
Once again a tribute to the art of blending!