Catena Zapata

History of Bodega Catena Zapata

The estate's history begins in 1898, when Nicola Catena left the Marche region of Italy to come to Argentina with a dream: to plant a Malbec vineyard. In 1902, he founded the bodega in Mendoza and planted his first vines. His son Domingo developed the estate, but it was the third generation, embodied by Nicolás Catena Zapata, who revolutionised Argentine wine. An economist by training and a visionary, he made the bold bet in the 1980s and 1990s on high altitude and absolute quality, going so far as to plant vines where no one believed the grapes could ripen. The 1997 vintage of the Nicolás Catena Zapata cuvée, the first Argentine luxury Fine Wine to be exported worldwide, triumphed in blind tastings against the first classified growths of Bordeaux.

Today, the fourth generation is at the helm: Laura Catena, also an emergency physician, leads the bodega and the Catena Institute of Wine she founded in 1995 — a genuine research laboratory dedicated to Andean terroir — alongside her sister Adrianna. The estate, recognisable by its Mayan pyramid-shaped winery, was named the world's most admired wine brand in 2020 and consistently garners perfect scores from the international press.

Terroirs and Vines at Bodega Catena Zapata

The family vineyard spans several exceptional sites in Mendoza, spread between 950 and nearly 1,500 metres of altitude. The jewel of the estate is the Adrianna vineyard, planted at Gualtallary in the Uco Valley at 1,450 metres: its calcareous soils scattered with pebbles and fossil deposits, its cold climate, and its extreme light intensity make it the most studied vineyard in the world, with every plot mapped down to the microorganism. The La Pirámide (Agrelo, Luján de Cuyo), Nicasia (Altamira, La Consulta), Angélica (Lunlunta, Maipú, with its pre-phylloxera vines in massal selection), and Domingo vineyards complete this unique heritage.

Altitude is the key to the Catena Zapata style: the higher one climbs on the Andean slopes, the lower the temperatures and the greater the diurnal temperature variation, allowing the grapes a slow and complete ripening. Malbec reigns supreme, accompanied by Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Chardonnay. The family also works to preserve ungrafted old vines and the genetic heritage of Argentine Malbec through the famous Catena Cuttings selections.

Winemaking at Bodega Catena Zapata

The estate's philosophy is rooted in precision viticulture: each vineyard is divided into lots according to soil composition, harvested separately over several weeks, then vinified in micro-batches, row by row. The vines producing the finest grapes, identified plant by plant, are marked with a ribbon and harvested separately for the icon cuvées. The winemaking, supervised by the technical team alongside the Catena Institute of Wine, favours gentle extraction, indigenous yeasts, and measured ageing in French oak barrels, in order to preserve the freshness, minerality, and identity of each plot. The result: Mendoza wines of rare elegance, built for ageing.

The cuvées of Catena Zapata

Catena Zapata Estiba Reservada: the pinnacle of the family hierarchy. This great Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated blend is born from the most exceptional vines on the estate, marked with a red ribbon and harvested separately. Produced only in the greatest vintages, it is one of the rarest and most sought-after wines in Argentina.

Nicolás Catena Zapata: the historic icon cuvée, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Adrianna vineyard and Malbec and Cabernet Franc from the Nicasia vineyard. Recreating the original Bordeaux blend of the 18th and 19th centuries, this complex and profound wine weaves together black fruits, saline minerality, eucalyptus, and dark chocolate, with an ageing potential of several decades.

Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino: the family's tribute to a century of Argentine Malbec. Sourced from a pre-phylloxera massal selection of the Nicasia and Angélica vineyards, it combines the texture of old vines and the natural acidity of the cool climate, in a style that is at once powerful, velvety, and of great finesse.

Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae Malbec: a fine wine from a single plot sourced from the soils richest in limestone and micro-organisms in the Adrianna vineyard. Rated 100 points on several occasions, this high-altitude Malbec combines silky flesh, mineral tension, and exceptional length.

Adrianna Vineyard Fortuna Terrae Malbec: born from a plot with deep silt soils, this Malbec embodies a new Argentine wave favouring finesse and terroir. Floral, elegant, and intense, it regularly features among the world's finest wines.

Adrianna Vineyard River Stones Malbec: sourced from an ancient riverbed lined with oval pebbles, this cool-climate Malbec captivates with its vibrant fruit, violet notes, and stony minerality.

Adrianna Vineyard White Stones Chardonnay: planted on a plot of calcareous white stones, this high-altitude Chardonnay evokes the great white Burgundies through its tension, citrus notes, and crystalline salinity.

Adrianna Vineyard White Bones Chardonnay: sourced from a plot rich in calcareous deposits and fossil remains, this legendary Chardonnay — the first South American wine to receive 100 points — unfolds aromas of lime, ginger, and crushed stone of striking purity.

Catena Zapata Birth of Cabernet and Nicola Catena Bonarda: two confidential cuvées from the icon collection — the first celebrating the estate's great Cabernets, the second honouring the founder through the Bonarda grape variety sourced from old vines.

The Catena Alta range (Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay): blends of historic lots from the finest family vineyards, aged in French oak barrels, offering a superb introduction to the style of the estate's great wines.

The Catena and Catena Appellation range: the estate's classics, including the celebrated Catena Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay, as well as the appellation cuvées (Lunlunta, La Consulta, Vista Flores, Paraje Altamira, Agrelo, San Carlos, Tupungato) that explore the diversity of Mendoza's terroirs.

Angélica Zapata (Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Chardonnay Alta): a collection paying tribute to the family matriarch, sourced from high-altitude vineyards in the southern Uco Valley, producing concentrated wines with velvety tannins.

DV Catena: the range dedicated to Domingo Vicente Catena, including the famous Tinto Histórico and single-vineyard cuvées of Malbec, Cabernet, and Chardonnay — indulgent and approachable, perfect for discovering the Catena Zapata universe.