" We don't sell the wine without touching the vine "
Wine from Catena Zapata
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Great wines begin in the vineyard. Our vision is to make rich and unforgettable wines that are true to the special place they come from. The story of Catena is the story of Argentine wine.
Founded in 1902, Argentina’s Bodega Catena Zapata is known for its pioneering role in resurrecting Malbec and in discovering extreme high altitude terroirs in the Andean foothills of Mendoza.
The family’s Adrianna Vineyard at almost 5,000 feet elevation has been called the Grand Cru of South America.
Awards: Decanter Man of the Year, Wine Spectator Distinguished Service Award, Der Feinschmaker Award, Wine and Spirits and Wine Enthusiast Winery Awards.
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This wine is floral, exuberant, with lengthy smooth tannins, and metallic notes.
This cuvée takes its name from a small parcel of the Adrianna Vineyard that is completely covered with oval white stones and was the site of an ancient riverbed. The abundant stones provide optimal drainage and extreme temperatures. They absorb heat and moderate the nights, but also function like ice cubes after a very cold night. Stony soil Malbecs tend to be extremely aromatic, rich and luxurious, just like the River Malbec from Adrianna. This wine can be enjoyed young or aged for decades.
Pair with grilled meats.
Review:
Wild blackberries, pine cones, bark, chili chocolate, cracked pepper, cloves, iodine and crushed stones on the nose. Full-bodied with firm, creamy tannins. Lovely coolness and minerality to the dark fruit. Powerful, too. Try in 2026.
-James Suckling 98 Points
This wine is floral, exuberant, with lengthy smooth tannins, and metallic notes.
This cuvée takes its name from a small parcel of the Adrianna Vineyard that is completely covered with oval white stones and was the site of an ancient riverbed. The abundant stones provide optimal drainage and extreme temperatures. They absorb heat and moderate the nights, but also function like ice cubes after a very cold night. Stony soil Malbecs tend to be extremely aromatic, rich and luxurious, just like the River Malbec from Adrianna. This wine can be enjoyed young or aged for decades.
Pair with grilled meats.
Review:
There is an usual stony austerity in the 2021 Adrianna Vineyard River, cropped from a cold year when the full clusters fermented in concrete with a slightly shorter maceration and an élevage in a 2,000-liter oak foudre and the rest in stainless steel. It has a moderate 13.4% alcohol with very high acidity (8.2!) and a low pH (3.37), incredible parameters of freshness. The wine was closed and took time to take off in the glass, revealing a very elegant and subtle personality, with the silky texture of the very fine tannins, pristine aromas and flavors and a sense of harmony that was moving. It's powerful but extremely elegant in that rare combination of clout and energy, a wine of light, aerial, with some ethereal qualities, delicate and refined. This combines the cool place and high altitude, the cool year and the stony soils, to deliver a stunning Malbec that goes well beyond the variety. Bravo!
-Wine Advocate 100 Points
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Vintners Dennis O’Neil and Steph Martin began development of Checkerboard Vineyards in 1999 and retained winemaker Martha McClellan to create a portfolio of wines reflecting the mountainside. The estate includes four vineyard sites of different elevation, exposure and soil composition, providing the foundation for a portfolio that includes Checkerboard Aurora Vineyard, Checkerboard Coyote Ridge Vineyard, Checkerboard Nash Creek Vineyard, Checkerboard Kings Row, Checkerboard Sauvignon Blanc, and Checkerboard Rose. Grapes are harvested at dawn in micro-lots and delivered steps away to the winery where clusters are sorted, discarding any blemished ones. Individual berries are hand-selected for vinification and transferred for fermentation, by hand, to Taransaud wooden tanks, stainless tanks, and individual wooden barrels.
Farming is based on long-term sustainability and includes water conservation and monitoring, permanent cover crops planted in alternating rows, and the use of entomology for pest control and the development of soils with good organic matter and microbiology. Checkerboard Vineyards is a member of Fish Friendly Farming which promotes environmentally-friendly land practices and water quality management. Aurora Vineyard is located in a small valley midway up Diamond Mountain and on a large knoll at an elevation of 1,200 feet. The knoll bulges outward, giving the vineyard full Southern exposure and open light from the East and West and protection from Napa Valley’s summer fog. Six acres are planted in the knoll’s rich, volcanic soils that are riddled with basalt cobble in a loamy red clay. The remaining six acres are planted in a deep gravely mix of volcanic ash and chips of decomposed Rhyolite that were washed down from the steep, rocky crags of Diamond Mountain above.
There's a fresh, sweet aroma to the 2016 Checkerboard Aurora Vineyard that builds excitement and anticipation for what's to come. On approach, the palate is juicy and expansive and explodes with flavors of blackberry, mulberry, dark cherry, caramel, leaf tobacco and green olive. The wine continues with a voluptuousness that's linear and constant yet lifted by natural acidity. The finish is showy, long and lingering with finely polished tannins. An exceptional vintage.
This Pinot Grigio is grown at the foot of the remains of what was once the stunning villa of the della Scala family, one of the most influencial families in Verona from the early 1200's to the late 1300's. The much admired ruler of Verona, Cangrande I della Scala, summered at this villa. Cangrande I was a great warrior, diplomatic prince and an important patron of the arts. He championed the works of Dante, Patrarch and Giotto. He created beautiful architecture throughout the city in the ornate, gothic style of his time. This label is a reproduction of the design taken from a fragment of the ornate and intricate art that once covered the ceilings of the villa. In Italian, Ornato means ornate or adorned. This label celebrates the beautiful, complex taste of the Della Scala family and the Gothic art of that period.
Color: Brilliant straw colored wine with golden reflections.
Bouquet: Fresh and floral bouquet with a hint of pears, apricots and bananas blended with the intense aroma of acacia flowers.
Taste: Fresh and inviting with bright fruit and an easy drinking style with a pleasing hint of almonds in the aftertaste.
Vineyard: Rich in limestone the soil is of alluvial origin. The vineyards are located in the province of Verona. The agricultre is sustainable. No chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides are used. The vineyards are South facing at 300 meters above sea level.
Harvest: September – by hand. The grapes are picked as they ripen to keep the acidity high. The grapes are brought to the cellar and refrigerated within a half hour of picking to keep oxidation to a minimum.
The grapes are soft pressed and the juice is placed in stainless steel along with the skins for a brief maceration of 12 hours at 8-10° C. The must is then racked and lightly filtered. Fermentation then takes place with selected indigenous yeast under controlled temperatures. Of 16-18°C. The fermentation is slow and cool to emhance the natural aromas of the grapes. The finished wine is placed in stainless steel holding tanks until bottled.
Aging: 3-4 months in stainless steel.
Alcohol: 12%
Acidity: 5.30
Seafood dishes, risottos with scampi, spaghetti with clams, sole in white wine.
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