Catena Zapata, Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendoza

Still quite nice and holding up well. 13.9%

2005 vintage

unremarkable, would not purchase this again.

2017 vintage

Beautiful dense glass-staining dark color, still ruby red and plummy purple! In the mouth, this has gorgeous fruit (black cherry, blueberry preserve, freesh brambles) mixed with grilled meats, resolved tannines and sufficient freshness. Impressively youthful and vigorous for this 19 yo Malbec. This particular bottling has been very consistent in quality and a great bang for your bucks for more than 25 years now.

2005 vintage

Bad cellar management let this bottle go too long. Concentrated core of syrupy dark berry fruit, lots of sediment, but quite flaccid structure at this point. No longer displaying the strength expected out of either Catena Alta or the Malbec grape.

2005 vintage

Colour: medium dark red nose: medium low green pepper, leathery, plums palate: medium tannin, almost off dry, medium body finish: medium finish, fairly balanced

2017 vintage

Clear deep garnet color, no sediment or bricking at all. Aromas of wood, cinnamon, and crushed dark berries lead into deep, intense flavors of red and black cherry compote, cassis, hints of vanilla and echos of cinnamon and mocha. A long, long finish emphasizing the dark, rich fruits, firm but velvety and refined tannins, and a hint of spices and mocha. A lovely, elegant, refined wine, a pleasure to savor. Last bottle in my cellar, wish I had more, although …

2005 vintage

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (93%) and Cabernet Franc (7%) sourced from La Piramide vineyard Lot 3 in Luján de Cuyo, Domingo vineyard Lot 2 in Valle du Uco and Nicasia Vineyard Lot 2 in Valle de Uco. Lots are fermented spontaneously and separately in small fermentation bins and barrels ranging from 225 to 500 liters in size. Macerated with the skins for 30 days. Aged for 18 months in French oak barrels. 13,7% alcohol, 5,87 g/l acidity and pH …

2017 vintage

A nose of dark fruit and some spice, dark garnet in color. A medium to full bodied red, with black cherry, plum some licorice and spice on finish. www.winelx.com

2017 vintage

Some smoke and blackberries on the nose, comes back on the palette. Not to much of anything which was a crowdpleaser. The GPR is pretty good.

2017 vintage

Heel lekker, maar prijs-kwaliteit discutabel

2017 vintage

Decanted fo sediment which was light, big dark cherries, currants cassis, woody tart finish, fully integrated and clearly on the backside. Personally cellared Since 10/2008, to the best of my knowledge this bottle has not moved from my cellar since then.

2005 vintage

Smooth. Little fruit.

2017 vintage

Passive cellared since retail ‘09. PnP. Singing right out of the bottle. Great expressive nose of ripe red fruit. Delicious, well made new world cab that hits all of the pleasure zones without being jammy, hot or unbalanced. It’s just a lovely wine drinking at its’ peak. Red currant and tobacco. Tiny bit of vanilla, but there’s plenty of acid to balance that. Finishes with lovely dusty tannins.

2005 vintage

Easy drinker with dark fruit and some acidity. I thinks it's past its prime but still drinking well. Drink 'em if you got 'em

2005 vintage

PnP, tasted over two nights. Mid+ body, mid acid, 13.9%

2005 vintage

Mieux que ma précédente, moins boisé et plus complexe. Il commence à entrer dans sa fenêtre je crois. ...à revoir bientôt.

2005 vintage

Liked this, buy again

2005 vintage

Not sure if it was the bottle or just the passage of time, but this seemed over the hill. Drink now. 13.9%

2005 vintage

This was just a bit behind the 2004 Alta Malbec. Beautiful dark fruit with soft tannins and a smooth finish. At it's peak.

2005 vintage

Drinking so well. Dark Cabernet fruit with soft tannins and a smooth finish. At it's peak.

2005 vintage

Decated 1 hr, I have not tasted since 2012, perhaps because I found the last bottle not all that appealing, however this bottle was quite to the contrary, According to CT I still have 1 more bottle damn if I know where. Nice cedar nose with hints of plum, chocolate and cherry. The palate was full of similar flavors, with some nice rustic notes on the finish, way more balanced and integrated than the bottle I tasted in 2012. Paired …

2005 vintage

Ready to drink kow

2005 vintage

Interesting for me to have a 12 year old Malbec. I enjoyed it and it is a good wine but I didn't find it as fruit forward as others have said. Notes of black fruits on the nose to start but then the age comes into it and there's some fruit but more oak and leather in the mouth. Definitely drink up if you have.

2005 vintage

My last bottle of 2005 Catena Alta Malbec. Not much to add to my most recent note, from 2/17/15. Excellent, fruit-forward Malbec with opulent fruit, integrated oak, refreshing acidity, and sweet tannins. This wine tastes fully mature. Drink up now!

2005 vintage

Great BBQ-wine. Of course. Black cherries, grilled meat, balsamic notes, earth and smoke.

2005 vintage

dark garnet in the glass. On the nose: dried herbes de Provence, anise, cherry licorice, and fresh pencil shavings. On the palate: Dark fruits, cherry cola, red grape skins, mocha latte, and rhubarb pie. Lively tannins present with a little spice on the finish.

2005 vintage

Perfect for drinking now

2005 vintage

Opened one hour prior. Dark garnet purple with fine suspended sediment. Dark fruit bouquet with some spice. Palate is similar with fine tannins and a medium final. This is drinking very well now. Refreshing and well balanced - a full bodied Malbec with good complexity.

2005 vintage

Nice wine

2005 vintage

Still very, very young. This is certainly a new world wine, but it has the cool elegance of Catena, and it is extremely well made, smooth and well structured. The fruit is primary and rich, but the balance is impeccable, as it should be in a majestic cab. (Kandestederne)

2005 vintage

Lab BBQ and finished over course of week from Enomatic. Consistent with previous notes and a nice Malbec. My last bottle -- this was enjoyable overall.

2005 vintage

Finally shed the baby fat, interesting enough, great spice box thing going for it but too much oak, alcohol and not enough tertiary characteristics to keep my attention.

2005 vintage

Popped and poured. Dark garnet, purple rim, fine suspended sediment. Could be a north Rhone wine on the nose - dark fruit aromatics with a spicy note. Round, supple attack. Building slowly to a fine dark fruit mid-palate. Fine drying tannins and some spicy oak in the background. Moderate final. Good complexity and balance. Drinking nicely now and probably unlikely to gain much with additional cellaring. Still - no hurry to finish these - I'd expect they can easily make …

2005 vintage

Age hasn't been that kind to this wine. By no means did it seem flawed, but it was just lacking intensity in all aspects. Soft, lacking acid, very little tannin and really without much pop from the fruit. It was perfectly drinkable, but it was completely anonymous as well. If you have any in your cellar, drink them now as they are clearly on the decline.

2005 vintage

Decanted prior to serving, wine threw very little sediment. Clear, deep garnet with a light purple rim. Medium intensity, developed nose of blueberries and black cherries, orange peel, tobacco, leather, a touch vegetal (bell pepper, straw), and wet earth. Palate is dry, medium across the board (acid, tannin, body, alcohol, intensity, and length). Palate disappoints. Fruit is sadly muted. Plenty of weight, acid, etc., just not much flavor. Drink up folks, this wine is fading. I definitely remember it having …

2005 vintage

Nice balance and structure. 13.9%

2005 vintage

Opaque dark garnet. Nose of dust, plum, cassis, blackberry, and vanilla. Ripe full palate of blackberry, blueberry, cassis, plum, and black licorice. Excellent length. Pleasant acidity. Sweet tannins.

2005 vintage

The last bottle of this wine opened a little over a year ago was past its prime or just an off bottle. Hard to know which. Well not so here. Blackberry, cherry, spice and cedar. Nicely mellowed with time but plenty of ripe fruit yet. Very tasty.

2005 vintage

Very complex nose of cedar, leather, black ripe fruit, characoal, hint of smoke... still very tannic and concentrated, loads of ripe tannins and ripe fruit, still a little bit young to taste but a long life ahead 94+/100

2005 vintage

Todays 11-15, 2014 this bottle of 2005 alta malbec not Cab sav is drink very well 95 pts pop and poured no need to decant

2005 vintage

Could have swore this was corked. Or at least had a green thing on the nose and was pretty dead on the palate. Not quite what I was expecting.

2005 vintage

Quite different from a california cab, less fruit screaming at you, tannins are fairly soft, but certainly present. Nicely balanced, it complemented a ribeye very well. Decanted for about 30 min.

2005 vintage

Bien fait mais de facture assez moderne en ce moment. Soyeux avec une acidité moyenne. Au nez fruits noirs avec des épices et un peu de boisé. En bouche, c'est charmeur, presque rond même. Mures et poivre avec des tannins soyeux et une finale moyenne avec une impression de chauffe. Bon mais on préfère le 2004 en ce moment.

2005 vintage

Nice dark fruit, light oak, balanced by mild acidity and smooth tannins. Pop and pour and served slightly chilled with grilled chicken breast, home made pesto-pasta and garden fresh green beans.

2005 vintage

Un nez sur la vanille et le fruit noir, qui a mis du temps à s'ouvrir. Jolie texture ronde, un Cabernet sucré, dodu, au style en retenue, lissé par son élevage, mais qui garde une belle présence en bouche. Pas d'alcool perceptible, ni d'extraction excessive, les tanins sont soyeux et le vin montre un bel équilibre dans sa structure. Cependant, l'expression aromatique est simple et trop vanille/chocolat pour que j'apprécie davantage. Agréable, mais cher à 48$. 88 pts

2005 vintage

Our second bottle of this, we drank the first almost 4 years ago and I find these wines are just not developing much which begs why you would age them, it has not gone downhill or anything, just almost as it was although it scored a touch higher than the last one (not even close to the wonderfully amazing Mas La Plana '04 we had alongside) - Dark, full bodied with a nose of black fruit, cedar, tar, mint, licorice …

2005 vintage

See my previous notes. Still performing well.

2005 vintage

Dense and pungent, this is a powerful wine majoring in tobacco, earth and learthery notes before the black fruit takes over on the finish. Delicious and complex.

2005 vintage

Opened for 40 min. Not decanted. medoum to dark rubi color, some rim denoting ageing. Nose improves a lot with air and time in glass: rubber, black pepper, subtle green pepper, liquour cherries. On palate it's medium bodied, alcohol a bit noticiable on first sniff, smooth, barely no hard edges, rounded, balanced, elegant, medium finish. Very nice to drink. (90+)

2005 vintage

Love it, Love it, Love it. Big nose of black fruit and a good follow through of the same on the palate with some graphite or steely sensation. Had with a lamb shank with cinnamon and honey and it matched very well. Will wait awhile with the rest of the case as it could use some time to really fill out.

2005 vintage

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Catena Zapata, Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendoza

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