Catena Zapata Nicasia Vineyard 2022

Catena Zapata is the estate that established high-altitude Malbec as one of Argentina's great wines, and the Nicasia Vineyard sits in the Uco Valley, one of Mendoza's coolest and highest zones. Altitude is central to the style here: the intense mountain sunlight thickens the grape skins, deepening colour and tannin, while cold nights preserve acidity and aromatic freshness, so the wine keeps balance despite full ripeness. Malbec grown this high yields a darker, more structured red than the plush, jammy style of warmer sites. The wine is aged twenty-four months in French oak followed by a further two years in bottle before release; the extended oak allows a slow oxygen exchange that softens the tannins and adds spice and cocoa, and the bottle age integrates the whole into a seamless texture. Expect a deep violet-tinged ruby colour, a nose of black plum, cherry, black pepper and cocoa over vanilla and leather, and a full, structured palate with fine, ripe tannins and a long savoury finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, decanted ahead, with red meat.