Catena Zapata, Catena Alta Chardonnay, Mendoza

New world, the oak is noticeable and a little too much for me. I surprisingly prefer their less expensive chardonnay that is more steely.

2014 vintage

The cork was a bit crumbly but came out almost intact. I strained one small bit with a tea leaf strainer while pouring the wine into my glass. The wine was a deep gold color indicating oxidation. I held this past prime time, but it was still flavorful. I get baked apple, gentle spices (cinnamon?) and even some clove. It has a long finish. I enjoyed it with a deli potato/bacon/Cheddar cheese soup. When opened in its prime, it is …

2006 vintage

Best 1 day after opening. Should be decanted

2014 vintage

No notes at the time, but I enjoyed the effects of the extra ageing. Very new-world in fruit profile.

2014 vintage

Getting to be a bit past prime, oak has diminshed with age but butter and vanilla still shows. Delicate flavor with lemon, stonefruit, honey and subtle minerality. Imagine Burgandy juice but made in California.

2008 vintage

White wine of the night at a South American tasting. Nice balance

2014 vintage

Bit of a downgrade since my last tasting a couple of years ago. Bought 2014, possibly misjudged it's ageability, or at least how it would evolve. After an hour breathing started to come out of its shell and reveal a lovely layer of nutty complexity. Developed, reminds me of Roussanne more than Chard. Lots of phenolic bitter tones, ground slowly dry toasted almonds, old apple skin. Ripe dried apricot and old-fashioned mazipan develops to more deep nutty-ness on the pal. …

2014 vintage

Mooie neus met citrusachtige tonen. In de mond een volle en vette textuur met zachte en vooral lange afdronk.

2014 vintage

Creamy and slightly buttery on the nose, notes of yellow stone fruit, hints of tropical fruit. Lots of intensity on the palate - concentrated and dense with good acidity and very good length. Drink or keep. 90-92

2014 vintage

This is very good. I don't know how much this was but if it's under $25 it's a winner. Medium body (to fullish) with good concentration and that pineapple, medium-oaked style that I like. Compared to a more acidic, less body but ageable Gary Farrell Chardonnay I prefer this.

2014 vintage

this is good, but relatively expensive, chardonnay. not overly oaky, medium-length finish. could likely go a few years.

2014 vintage

Very modern pineapple nose and palate. Not subtle. Super fruity.

2014 vintage

Light woody stony, pear, apricot.

2014 vintage

Trop lourd à mon goût. Manque d’acidité et maturité poussée un peu trop loin

2011 vintage

very intense in nose and palate. still good structure from acidity and a bit of bitternes. Might get better in the next 1-2 years

2014 vintage

Underneath the 10,000% new oak there really is a fine wine. And while there's just enough acid and minerality to buttress that heavy load of butter and vanilla i still think it's a shame that the fruit should be hidden so. That said, it has aged very well and is drinking beautifully.

2008 vintage

This wine is still going strong and probably better than my last bottle in 2011. Medium golden yellow color with a nose of flint, lemon curd, apricot and minerals. Nice depth and richness on the palate, yet not flabby or flat. On the palate I get buttery lemon and some tropical fruits with a touch of vanilla and white peach on the finish with a decent dose of acidity as well. Impressively long aftertaste that lasted more than a minute. …

2008 vintage

Drink up. Getting long in the tooth. Sugars coming forward.

2011 vintage

Very nice chardonnay some notes of citrus and minerality on the palate good finish with some sugary undercurrents on the finish. Not sure if it is worth the extra money over the cheaper Catena chardonnay.

2014 vintage

Eikebombe med litt svidde toner, kanskje noe melon. Trepreget dominerer i munnen også. Litt spennende og nytt for oss som aldri drikker sånn vin, men det varer ikke så lenge - blir nokså endimensjonal, og ettersmaken er litt som å tygge eikeflis. Men det er litt friskhet bak treet, så helt galt er det ikke.

2014 vintage

Quite a rich and hedonistic wine which lacks the extra oomph to be excellent. Has oaky aromas of vanilla, lemons, limes. Its medium bodied chunky and spherical palate has luxury vanilla oak. Ends mediumish and reasonably fresh, elegant and vanilla oaky. Not sure about the QPR on this at over 25 Euros. 13.5%. Drink up soon!

2014 vintage

2014 Catena Zapata, Alta Chardonnay 2014. Tight (lite luft?) , sitrus, vanilje, eple. Medium lang intens. Noe tung. Flott vin. 88-89.

2014 vintage

While I didn't enjoy this on release, time has given it extra dimension that makes it shine with the right foods (salmon). There's a sweetness to it that almost pushes it to the off-dry spectrum, but this is the natural result of a warm climate. Thankfully it is still under 14%, and retains a only a small bit of acid but a decent bit of minerals. Will likely continue to improve for another couple of years.

2008 vintage

Mild oak, reasonable acidity and lemony bite. Not as balanced or as fresh as I was expecting.

2014 vintage

Nice modern style chardonnay - acidity holding oak and fruit in balance. Pleasing texture

2014 vintage

Mörkare i färgen, tät och oljig Väldigt smörig och ekad. vanilj, citronzest, Fet, smörig, rund och fyllig. Helt okej längd, en alkohol på 14% som inte stör nämnvärt Blint hade jag satt detta som en Cali Chardonnay. Helt klart ett dugligt vin för två små hundralappar.

2014 vintage

Pleasantly complex with a spicy note at the finish

2014 vintage

Light yellow color; citrus, lanolin nose; tasty, rich, citrus, lanolin palate with near medium acidity; medium-plus finish 90+ points

2014 vintage

Pale greenish yellow colour. Restrained nose when opened. Buttery, honeyed, complex palate with apple, sweet pineapple and other tropical fruit flavours integrated with subtle spice and gentle citrus acidity that persisted on the lips. Some dusty oak at first on the late palate but this seemed to soften and a hint of ginger emerged with time. The wine opened nicely in the glass and showed its class. The palate was long and the flavours were very well integrated. Good with …

2008 vintage

WSET Diploma Practice Tasting - Final Session (Fredericks, Islington) : The wine is clear and medium lemon in colour. The nose is lean with medium (+) intensity aromas of stone fruit (peach), tropical fruit (pineapple, mango), floral (honeysuckle), nuts (almonds, hazelnuts), oak (toast), elf (butter, wax). The wine is developing. The palate is dry with medium acidity, medium (+) alcohol, medium (+) body, medium (+) intensity flavours of peach, honeysuckle, mango, vanilla, butter, nuts. The finish is medium (+) length. …

2014 vintage

Medium yellow. A little CO2 along with barrel fermentation odors, pear and pineapple. Quite concentrated with white fruit and vanilla and has rich feel. Balanced with enough mineral and acid.

2011 vintage

PnP. Similar to previous notes. Light, not over done, fresh squeezed citrus. As it warms in the glass the spicy butterscotch finish brings it home.

2011 vintage

It's too old

2006 vintage

pale yellow color. Modest nose of light fruits and flowers. Good mouth feel with only a little acidity. Citrus flavor a dominated by grapefruit. Solid but unremarkable

2011 vintage

Big wine, lots of banana, guava and caramel. Quite high in acidity too., but the wine doesn't have a very fresh mouthfeel. It's heavy, seems acidified and it's too oaky for me. Not my style.

2006 vintage

Great as usual, but I was expecting it to pass the 90pts line :(. Very salty on the mouth

2011 vintage

really creamy, citrus, salt and spicy finish

2011 vintage

Seems the same as my last go around. This stuff is good. Pale golden yellow. Rich aromas of nectarine, lemon, papaya and cinnamon. Great weight and presence on the palate. White and yellow fruits are present along with some simmering spice and good acidic grip. Clearly not Burgundian but also not Californian. It is really is its own thing. I have had both French and American chardonnays that hit some similar notes but this is not trying to be either. …

2008 vintage

Amazing wine! That's the right moment to drink it! Yellow gold! Looks like a Burgundy!

2008 vintage

Chardonnay excelente

2008 vintage

Fresh, solid style that lasts through the finish. Worth the $$

2011 vintage

Unlike the last time I drunk this wine, I tasted this blind. Appearance is quite pale with a green hue, grapefruit and citrus lime fruit in the air. The palate is pure citrus fruit but followed with a lovely creaminess, some alcohol heat and spice and a buttery fnish. All in all much like a lemon meringue tart. Lovely.

2011 vintage

Consistent with previous note.

2011 vintage

Very good AR Chard. Dry, crisp, not too much oak and great finish! Probably good for another year or two!

2008 vintage

This bottle was over the hill

2008 vintage

Tropical fruits, nuts and some butter. A bit sweet on the palate, maybe the acidity's a bit too low.

2008 vintage

Really rather good, if a bit boring/uni-dimensional. Fat, and carrying a bit of oak, but it's balanced and the fruit expresses itself pretty well. Lacks some cut, for me.

2011 vintage

Poured from an unusually wide Burgundy shaped bottle but that's an aside... Quite pale on the eye, the palate is lean, austere even, giving citrus fruits on the nose and palate. Elegant and light framed, not what I was expecting so an interesting and pleasant surprise.

2011 vintage

A little on the unbalanced sweet side.

2008 vintage

Tasted immediately after opening. Pale straw colour. On the nose; rich white fruit with slight tropical undertones, butter, nuts, vanilla and sea spray. On the palate; dense texture, generous fruit, good length – a little heat, but still fairly well balanced. Clearly "new world" – more fruit, less minerality, obvious oak and high alcohol. Nevertheless, this wine does a good job of highlighting the positive aspects of the style by displaying firm structure and few traces of unintergrated wood (89-90 …

2011 vintage

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Catena Zapata, Catena Alta Chardonnay, Mendoza

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