97pts James Suckling

Sweet tobacco, cigar box, berries and minerals. It gets a little zesty and citrusy on the nose. Really refined and juicy on the palate with lot of fine tannins. Silky, fluid and linear with a very elegant, soft-spoken finish. 46% cabernet sauvignon from Adrianna vineyard and 44% malbec and 10% cabernet franc from Nicasia vineyard. Really refined, long and Bordelais. This is already drinking really well, but it will hold like this for a long time.

96pts Decanter

Great poise and definition in this bright 2021 with less Cabernet Franc (10%) than in previous vintages and more Malbec (44%). This make up comes through in the moreish herbal notes (thyme, oregano, rocket) that outline the blackcurrant and blackberry fruit. Underneath, a juicy fluidity brings in freshness and ease throughout.

96pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2021 Nicolás Catena Zapata was produced with a blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Malbec and 10% Cabernet Franc from Nicasia and Adrianna vineyards. It fermented in small oak barrels, concrete and stainless steel tanks and matured in 2,000-liter oak foudres for 18 months. It's a powerful but fresh red with 13.7% alcohol and mellow acidity, perhaps because the Cabernet Sauvignon was picked earlier (and with lower yields) and they discarded the clay soils and went more for stony plots. The wine feels more streamlined and elegant. 2021 is a cool and very good year, following the path of the 2019, and the wine shows the classical herbal and spicy character of the Bordeaux varieties with pungent notes of black peppercorns and is spicier because of the high Cabernet Franc content.
Rating: 96+

96pts Vinous

For some producers, the 2021 vintage, marked by certain rains in February that tempered the harvest temperatures in March, represents the closest thing to a Bordeaux year that can be achieved in Mendoza. In that sense, the 2021 was an ideal vintage for Bordeaux-origin varieties. This unique situation is clearly reflected in the 2021 Malbec Nicolás Vineyard, which unveils a new label for this vintage after being aged up to 21 months in French oak barrels. The wine blends 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Malbec and 10% Cabernet Franc from Uco Valley vineyards. With a deep purple hue and a garnet tint, it opens with delicate cassis and Bordeaux-like nuances of ash, tobacco, black fruit and cherry. Expressive and compact, it features cedar notes on a long, lingering finish.

Winemaker Notes

Nicolás Catena Zapata has an intense, deep purple color with bluish-black tones. On the nose, aromas of black fruits – blackberries, black cherries, black plums – predominate with subtle notes of vanilla and dark chocolate intermingled with savory hints of green olive and a stony minerality. On the palate, the wine is tremendously complex, unfolding layer upon layer of red currant, eucalyptus, and black pepper flavors. Black cherries and blackberries give way to cassis followed by a hint of saline minerality. The wine is remarkably concentrated with a firm tannic structure providing the backbone for the lush fruit. The finish is long, a foretoken of the long aging potential of this Argentine masterpiece.

Aromas of black fruit and saline minerality with subtle vanilla and dark chocolate.

Tremendously complex and remarkably concentrated, with layers of red currant, eucalyptus, and black pepper.

Blend: 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Franc

Winery Notes

With its inaugural 1997 vintage, Nicolás Catena Zapata became the first luxury cuvée from Argentina to be exported around the world. The wine recreates the “Original Bordeaux Blend” of the 18th and 19th Centuries, when Malbec dominated over Merlot and was in equal standing to Cabernet Sauvignon in the Médoc. Prephylloxeric Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon massale selections of ungrafted vines give rise to this wine, opening a window to the past from the mountain vineyards of Mendoza, Argentina.