September 23, 2024
Release: Catena Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae Malbec 2021
We've been lucky enough to have quite a few 100-pointed releases as part of the September releases and this one we truly believe is worth a spot in your collection.
The Catena Winery has played a pivotal role in elevating Argentine Malbec to world-class status, showcasing the immense potential of South American wines. With centuries of family tradition, a commitment to innovation, and a deep respect for the land, Catena Winery has produced some of the most acclaimed and sought-after wines globally. By focusing on unique vineyard parcels, they are pushing the boundaries of fine wine in Argentina, setting new standards for quality and precision.
In Mendoza, it's well known that higher elevations produce exceptional wines, and the 2021 Catena Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae Malbec is a prime example. Sourced from the high-altitude Adrianna Vineyard in the Gualtallary region, this Malbec beautifully expresses the distinctive character of its chalky, limestone-rich soils. The 2021 vintage reveals intense black fruit aromas, interwoven with layers of violet and a subtle mineral touch, highlighting the exceptional terroir of this renowned site.
The 2021 vintage delivers concentrated black fruit flavours, complemented by floral notes of violet and an elegant, earthy depth. Aged in French oak, it boasts refined tannins and a long, layered finish. The wine has garnered exceptional critical acclaim, with Jane Anson awarding it a perfect 100-point score, placing it among the finest wines ever produced in Argentina.
This highly sought-after vintage is extremely limited, and with such high praise from critics, it is likely to sell out quickly.
Catena Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae Malbec 2021
100 Points | Jane Anson
Violets and herb-strewn rose petals curl out of the glass, along with cola, mint, flint, slate, hawthorn, blueberry and black cherry fruit. One of the things that I love about this wine is how it rewrites the perception of Argentinian Malbec that is is known for its velvety sweet and smooth flavours, whereas this puts the texture and the grip back to its heart, along with a vivid brightness of fruit. There is chocolate here, but it is cocoa bean, focused and gripping and full of joy. Alejandro Vigil winemaker. Tasted twice
99 Points | James Suckling
A complex yet super discreet nose with hints of wet stone, wet earth, peppercorn and graphite to the red and blue fruits. An elegant expression but this has an intense mid-palate with tight but silky tannins. Long, complex and soft-spoken. Nothing conspicuous here. Impeccable interplay between concentration and purity. Will age really well. Drinkable now but better from 2025.
98 Points | Wine Advocate, Luis Gutierrez
The 2021 Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae comes from 1.4 hectares within the Adrianna vineyard in Gualtallary, planted in 1992 at 1,390 meters above sea level. It's from a cooler year in Mendoza with some frost that delivered low yields and wines of good concentration and ripeness. It has 13.9% alcohol and notable acidity (7.3 grams of tartaric acid per liter of wine). Seventy-five percent of the volume started fermenting in concrete with 50% full clusters and the rest without stems or skins, only juice, in oak foudres and aged in oak barrels for 15 to 18 months. This is very straight, elegant and balanced, following the path toward elegance that started in 2019. The wine closed down in the glass and slowly unfurled layers of complexity. It's textured, with very fine-grained tannins and great balance, a very subtle note of spices and a very elegant mouthfeel. This wine has been getting better and better in the last few years, getting closer to the more austere profile of the River bottling from Adrianna vineyard (which is still a little more austere than this in the great 2021 vintage).
Nicolas Catena Zapata 2021
97 Points | James Suckling
Sweet tobacco, cigar box, berries and minerals. It gets a little zesty and citrusy on the nose. Really refined and juicy on the palate with lot of fine tannins. Silky, fluid and linear with a very elegant, soft-spoken finish. 46% cabernet sauvignon from Adrianna vineyard and 44% malbec and 10% cabernet franc from Nicasia vineyard. Really refined, long and Bordelais. This is already drinking really well, but it will hold like this for a long time.
96 Points | Jane Anson
A cool vintage, although not as much as 2016, with precision and nuance, floral aromatics, raspberry leaf, black cherry and brambled hedgerow fruit, with tobacco and chamomile flowers, smoky and intense. This vintage sees a new label for the first time since this wine was first released back in 1997, pointing to what makes it so different from many Argentinian Cab-Malbec blends (ungrafted pre-phylloxera vines, whole cluster vinification, massal selection programme leading to the diversity of their DNA). 50% new oak for ageing. Alejandro Vigil winemaker. Tasted twice.
96 Points | Wine Advocate, Luis Gutierrez
The 2021 Nicolás Catena Zapata was produced with a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc and 25% Malbec. It comes from Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon massal selections of ungrafted vines from Nicasia in Altamira and Adrianna in Tupungato and Cabernet Franc from Agrelo. It fermented in small oak barrels, concrete and stainless steel tanks and matured in 2,000-liter oak foudres for 18 months. It's a powerful but fresh red with 13.7% alcohol and mellow acidity, perhaps because the Cabernet Sauvignon was picked earlier (and with lower yields) and they discarded the clay soils and went more for stony plots. The wine feels more streamlined and elegant. 2021 is a cool and very good year, following the path of the 2019, and the wine shows the classical herbal and spicy character of the Bordeaux varieties with pungent notes of black peppercorns and is spicier because of the high Cabernet Franc content.