My country is not a country, it’s… Malbec, sang Laura Catena during her visit to Quebec, both feet in a snow bank, but her head in Argentina, where the ancestor Nicola Catena was established in 1902 with a handful of the clone that was to make the reputation of the house. Because, yes, this bodega, as unavoidable as winter is here, has since been an absolute reference in terms of Malbec in this country bordering Chile and its 40,000 hectares of vineyards nestling along the Cordillera des Andes. A country, but above all a grape variety that is cherished by both the voluble and brilliant Doctor Catena and her father Nicolás Catena Zapata who, from 1982, was going by his dynamism, like a Robert Mondavi in California, to propel the grape variety just as much than the region globally.
Listening to the lady talking about Malbec, but also about the countless angles and possibilities it offers on the ground, literally makes you dizzy. It’s because it works smoothly in Laura’s head! To the question: Why Malbec? She will answer: “Because it’s good and the clones are well suited here. Besides, do we wonder why we plant Pinot Noir in Burgundy? To ask the question, is to answer it.
But it would seem that the 135 different cuttings (prephylloxera) resulting from massal and clonal selections developed and planted in 1995 in the house vineyards are already multiplying very relevant avenues of interpretation, as evidenced by this study carried out on some 24 plots, of which we are beginning barely able to “pull the worms out of the nose”, not to say earthworms from the ground. The impression given is that the malbec would be as sensitive as the pinot noir because of its ability to “pump” the terroir information to restore different organoleptic variations. Wouldn’t it be relevant at this stage to imagine vinifying Malbec by destemming it, picking it and infusing it as one would the famous noirien?
Anyway, with its 27 sub-appellations in IG (Indicaciones Geográficas) and its slew of vineyards (50% of the total of 167,704 hectares have less than 4 ha on average in Argentina), the way could be traced – we can already dream – for possible appellations of villages such as Vista Flores, San Carlos or Lunlunta, to name a few. And why not – let’s dream better – suddenly raise the Catena Zapata Mundus Bacillus Terrae cuvée, from one of the many localities of the fascinating Adrianna vineyard located at nearly 1500 meters above sea level near Mendoza at the level of believed ? My dream ? Set foot there one day, head in the clouds and equipped with a good pair of sunglasses, because the brightness, here very beneficial for maturation, is almost unbearable.
This ambition to fully reveal the potential of the many plots is confirmed in the many cuvées offered too often, alas, delivered in limited quantities. I offer you here five that will be available during the year 2023. Two other cuvées, namely La Marchigiana Criolla Vino Natural 2020 ($25.05 – 14917881) And DV Catena “Tinto Historico” 2020 ($21.15 – 13958365), have already been proposed to you here on February 3rd. Some words.
White Stones Chardonnay 2019 ($132.25 – 15020979; 2018 $107 – 14782218) Fine oval gravels on well-drained subsoil offer a fruity high tension profile, with a sappy and highly salivating fruity approach. Princely fermentation and ageing. Rather beaunois style. (5+) ★★★★ ©
White Bones Chardonnay 2019 ($132.25 – 15020961) The terroir, already a few rows of vines away, delivers a different message, with a more calcareous profile. More substantial fruitiness with notes of fresh mint, Meyer lemon and vanillin. Long and racy. (10+) ★★★★ ©
Malbec La Consulta 2020 ($23.20 – 13554715) The silica subsoils here impart fragrance, freshness and delicate texture to this colorful, tannically rounded Malbec. (5) ★★★
Cabernet Franc San Carlos 2020 ($23.70 – 12577237) Marl and silica in the subsoil raise this magnificent Cabernet Franc to a level that many Bordeaux residents would envy! Purity and precision on a fine, lively palate, barely peppery, with no vegetal traces. (5) ★★★
Mundus Bacillus Terrae Malbec 2019 ($335.50 – 13222876) One of the very great Malbecs I have been allowed to taste! Achieving such an expression depends on a myriad of parameters (clone, calcareous soil, altitude, micro-organisms, mycorrhizae, breeding, etc.) whose adequacy of the parts already invites the great wine. A deep red that captivates, with very civilized fine tannins whose luminosity irradiates the palate for a long time, without an ounce of heaviness. A summit. (10+) ★★★★1/2 ©