Catena Alta Reviews
  • Catena rules Argentine chardonnay
    Stephen Tanzer
    http://www.winophilia.com - March 31, 2010
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  • Malbec In The Spotlight
    Wine Enthusiast - February 2010 issue.
    "...Catena Zapata, a trend setting winery that latches onto Malbec in the 1990s."
    Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino 2005 - 96 Points
    Catena Zapata Nicasia Vineyard 2005 - 96 Points
    Catena Alta Malbec 2005 - 93 Points
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  • Top 100 of 2009
    WineEnthusiast - Dec, 2009
    Catena Alta Malbec 2005 - 93 Points
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  • Wine Spectator Insider - Aug. 12, 2009
    Catena Alta Malbec 2006 - 93 Points
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  • Stephen Tanzer´s International Wine Celar - Jan/Feb 2009 issue
    Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 - 92 Points
    Catena Alta Malbec 2005 - 91 Points
    Catena Alta Chardonnay 2006 - 91 Points
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  • Wine Spectator - January 31 - February 28, 2009
    Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 - 93 Points
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  • Robert M. Parker Jr´s - The wine Advocate - Issue 180 - December 2008
    Catena Alta Malbec 2005 - 93 Points
    Catena Alta Chardonnay 2006 - 93 Points
    Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 - 92 Points
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  • Red Wines for the Season
    Jancis Robinson, FT.com - November 28, 2008
    Catena Alta Malbec 2005
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  • "Hot Wines"
    Wine Spectator - November 12, 2008
    Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 - 93 Points 
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  • "Seven Top Scores"
    Wine Spectator - November 15, 2008
    Catena Alta Malbec 2005 - 93 Points
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  • Press Sheet Catena Alta y Catena
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  • Argentinean malbecs stand on their own. Top Pick.
    Tennessean.com -     October 10, 2007
    Catena Alta Malbec 2004
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  • Malbec Made for Meat Competition
    Catena Alta Malbec 2004 - Catena Malbec 2004
    Bodega Catena Zapata's Alta Malbec 2004 took top spot the wine to have with meat in the final of the Malbec Made for Meat competition which took place on the 13th of September at the Gaucho Restaurant in Piccadilly.
    It also won the award for Best with Lamb. In a clean sweep of sorts, the Catena Malbec 2004 won the Best with Beef award.
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  • The Top 100 of 2006
    Wine Spectator, Dec. 2006
    Catena Alta Malbec 2003 - 94 Points - Ranked Number 34
    "Flashy, yet seductive. Vivid purple and blue frits are layered with exotic mocha and spice notes. Long and powerful, but creamy and pure on the finish, with fine acidity stretching it out."
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  • Wine Spectator, November 30, 2006
    Catena Alta Chardonnay 2003 - 91 Points
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  • Catena Alta Malbec 2002 - TOP 100 #66
    Wine Spectator Dec. 31, 2005 - Jan. 15, 2006.
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  • Argentime Vintners Go Global
    The Washington Times, Nov. 2, 2005, Paul Lukacs
    "As seems true just about everywhere in the winemaking world these days, Argentine vintners make plenty of chardonnay. And proving that the country is capable of making truly worldclass wine from this most popular white grape variety, Catena "Alta" 2002 ($30) tastes rich and creamy, with a superb structure and a long, evolving finish."
    "Catena Alta 2002 ($45) costs significantly more, but then it's a remarkably complete wine, displaying an elegance and finesse to which few malbecs even aspire. This special-occasion wine, while delicious now, should get even better with five years or so in bottle."
    "Perhaps even more elegant and complete, Nicolas Catena Zapata 2001 ($85) offers a wonderfully complex bouquet, followed by ripe fruit held in beautiful balance by firm but not astringent tannins."
    "These are three wines of genuine finesse and sophistication - some of the very finest from a country that is sending more and more fine wines to our shores every year."
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  • James Molesworth's Recommended Wines from Argentina
    Wine Spectator, November 15, 2005
    Catena Alta Malbec 2002 - 93 POINTS
    Deftly toasted, with vanilla and mocha suavely intertwined with lush plum, blackberry and boysenberry fruit. Long, plush and smoky through the finish where fruit takes and encore.
    Catena Alta Chardonnay 2002 - 92 POINTS
    Exotic, with dried pineapple and mango fruit layered with mineral, floraland piecrust flavors. Bright and tangy throughout, with a long, pure, fruit-filled finish. Very classy.
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  • Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate, Issue 159, Feb 2005
    Catena Alta Malbec 2002, 91 Points
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  • Wine Spectator, Jan. 31 - Feb. 29, 2004
    Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon 1999, 92 Points
    Catena Alta Chardonnay 2001, 92 Points
    Catena Alta Malbec 2001, 92 Points
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  • Wine Spectator, June 30, 2003
    Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon 1999, 92 Points
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  • Wine Spectator, June 30, 2003
    Catena Alta Malbec 2000, 92 Points
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  • Wine & Spirits, June 2003
    Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon 1999, 90 Points
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  • Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate, Issue 145, Feb 2003
    Catena Alta Chardonnay 2000, 93 Points
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  • "The Top 100" Our Editors Select the Most Exciting Wines of 2002
    Wine Spectator , December 31, 2002-Jan 15, 2003
    Bodega Catena Zapata - Mednoza - Adrianna Vineyard
    91 Points. 
    Bold and lush, with unctuous apricot, mango, fig and dried pineapple flavors and lots of grilled nut and spice notes. Long, creamy finish. Flashy, New World style that's hard to resist. Drink now through 2004. 1,165 cases made
  • Wine Spectator Weekly, March 21, 2002
    Catena Alta Malbec 1999, 92 Points
    "Nicolás Catena and his winemaker José Galante continue to lead high-end wine production in Argentina. Catena's best fruit gets bottled as Catena Alta. The '99 is really lush, with smoldering aromas of  blackberry and espresso beans; ripe, dark plum, currant and brier flavors; sweet, yet dense tannins and a long finish that drips with fruit and toast, yet remains elegant. Drink now through 2005." 
  • The Wine News, April/May 2002
    Catena Alta Malbec 1999, 91 Points
    "Dense purple-black hue. Black fruit aromas of plum and black cherry with underpinnings of new oak, moist earth, smoke and chocolate. Thick, jammy flavors of blackberry, blueberry, coffee, tar and minty oak. Robust, creamy close."
  • Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate, Issue 140, April 2002
    Catena Alta Chardonnay Adriana Vineyard 1999, 93 Points
    "This super-ripe, poached pear-scented Chardonnay is a Marcassin look-alike (Helen Turley). Medium to full-bodied and luscious, this wine has an oily texture, huge richness and a gorgeous intensity to its tropical fruit and spice-flavored character. It is lush, powerful and extremely well-balanced."
  • Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate, Issue 140, April 2002
    Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon Zapata Vineyard 1999, 90+ Points
    "This dark ruby-colored Cabernet has chocolate, raspberry and blackberry aromas. With 10% Malbec, it is highly concentrated and extracted...Layers of cassis liquer, blackberries, spices and dark cherries can be found in its tightly wound and tannic, yet ripe, character as well as in its admirably long finish."
  • Wine Spectator, November 15, 2001
    Catena Alta Zapata Vineyard 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon, 91 Points.
    "Serious Cabernet, with brooding dark currant fruit, notes of coffee, smoke and bittersweet Valrhona chocolate and ripe, authoritative tannins that pound out the finish. Drink now through 2004. 1,262 cases made. "
  • The Wine Advocate, May 2001, USA
    1997 Malbec Angélica Vineyard (91)
    "The red wine offerings from Nicolás Catena's mountain vineyard include the 1997 Malbec Angélica Vineyard. Bottled with neither fining nor filtration, it represents a production of 13,800 bottles, and is produced from a vineyard in the Lunlunta at an elevation of 2,950 feet. A sensational Malbec, it boasts a black/purple color as well as a sweet black raspberry ice cream-like aromas with high quality smoky oak and minerals. Full-bodied, with superb intensity, fabulous purity, nicely-integrated wood, and low acidity, this pure Malbec was aged in 100% new Taransaud barrels. It should drink will for 10-15 years."

    1996 Cabernet Sauvignon Tikal Vineyards (94)
    "Another sensational luxury priced red is the 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon Tikal Vineyard located in Agrelo. Aged in 100% new Taransaud barrels, kept 24 months before being bottled with no fining or filtration, this opaque purple/black colored effort is the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon yet tasted in Argentina. This wine exhibits fabulous blackberry/cassis aromas intermixed with licorice, chocolate, and smoke. A sensational texture, great purity, and superb richness and intensity will provide 15-20 years of aging potential. Nevertheless, this 1996 has current accessibility because of its low acidity and ripe, jammy fruit. It is a tour de force in winemaking!"

    1997 Nicolás Catena Zapata (95)
    "Lastly, the 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Nicolás Catena Zapata is a selection of the finest barrels in the Catena Alta cellars. About 5% Malbec was blended into this1,000 case lot. This wine may also be marketed in some countries under the name Cuvee Unico. It reveals a dense black/purple color as well as a sensational nose of cream the cassis liquer intermixed with toast oak. Unevolved and supple, with enormous concentration and richness in addition to a funky, grilled meat flavor, this huge, full-bodied wine is surprisingly well-balanced and symmetrical for its size. It should drink well for two decades. These wines from Nicolás Catena and his daughter represent the finest in winemaking art from South America. Sadly, the 1998 vintage suffered from 10 days of rain prior to the harvest, and none of these cuvees have been produced from this vintage."
  • Simple Pleasures, South of the equator, 2000, USA
    1997 Catena Alta Malbec
    "From Nicolás Catena comes this rich heavy wine packed with fruit and spices. Mostly flavors of black cherry, currants, raspberry and smoky plums make this a concentrated dream of the wine."

    1996 Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon
    "Right up to the quality of the best wines from California or Bordeaux. If this were from one of those places, it would be half the price!"
  • Wine Spectator, September, 2000, USA
    1996 Catena Alta Malbec, Lunlunta (92)
  • International Wine Cellar, March/April, 2000, USA
    1997 Catena Alta Malbec (92) 
    "Deep ruby-red. Deep aromas of crushed blackberry and brooding spices. Highly concentrated, silky and thick, a wine of impressive extract and sweetness. The tangy blackberry and tobacco flavors convey the essence of Malbec. Finishes with lush, extremely fine tannins and outstanding persistence. A superb combination of sheer material and flamboyant personality."
    "1996 Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon (92)
    Deep ruby-red. Exhilarating , wild nose features black raspberry, cassis, game, animal fur, leather, tobacco and black olive. Lush and thick on entry, then almost painfully intense, with strong but integrated acidity giving great verve to the high- pitched dark fruit flavors. Finishes with substantial but extremely fine tannins and great length. In fact, this is surely the longest wine among all of these bottles from Argentina and Chile." 
  • Food and Wine, December 1999, USA
    1996 Catena Alta Malbec
    "A simply massive wine: it not only looks dark (nearly purple), it smells dark. It is however much more approachable than its powerful bouquet would suggest, with fine , soft tannins. A remarkable wine"
  • Wine Spectator, 31/3/99, USA
    1996 Catena Alta Malbec, Lunlunta Vineyard (92)
    "This vivid, concentrated red shows how brightly Malbec can shine in Argentina. It has lush oak and polished texture of the best international-style reds, married to the meaty, smoky, plummy flavors characteristic of this obscure variety. Best 2000-2010."
  • Guide to Wine, June 11, 2000, UK
    1997 Catena Alta Malbec
    "Nicolás Catena is widely regarded as one of South America's best winemaker and his premium "Alta" range sets the pace for Argentinean wine."
  • The Wine Advocate, Robert Parker, October 1997.
    Catena's...three newest wines (the Catena Alta line) establish new reference points for quality in Argentina...The 1995 Catena Alta Chardonnay (score 92)...is a synthesis of style between a top-notch white Burgundy and a rich California Chardonnay...The 1994 Catena Alta Cabernet (score 93)...is undoubtedly the finest Cabernet ever produced in South America...The 1996 Catena Alta Malbec (to be released 9/98, score 91-94 points) gushes with jammy black fruits that have soaked up its aging in 100% new oak casks. Although extremely intense and rich, it comes across the palate as elegant with no sense of heaviness, rather remarkable in view of its exceptional intensity and length."
  • Wine and Spirits, December 1997.
    Honored Catena with its 1997 International Winery of the Year award.