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$104.95
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WS 96
WA 93
Argentina
In stock,
4
available
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List $120.00
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96 points Wine Spectator: "[$120 list] This muscular red features dark layers of blackberry, cassis and plum skin notes backed by juicy acidity. Fine-tuned, with a creamy edge and a long aftertaste of wildflowers, baking spices and mineral. Decant or cellar in the short-term. Drink now through 2020. 800 cases imported. (10/15/12)"
93 points Jay Miller (Wine Advocate): "[$120 list]Finca Altamira comes from 10 acres of old vines in La Consulta, with some that are 80 years old that is aged in 90% French and 10% American oak.The 2010 Finca Altamira is raised entirely in new French oak. It has a lifted bouquet with blackberry, graphite, a touch of soy and crushed stone. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, fine tannins and great balance. There is a wonderful purity to this wine, with touches of spice and cooked meat towards the finish. Excellent. Drink 2016-2030. (Oct 2012)"
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$99.95
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WA 98
IWC 93
Argentina
In stock,
1
available
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List $120.00
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98 points Jay Miller (Wine Advocate): "[$120 list] The 2009 Finca Bella Vista was sourced from a vineyard planted in 1910 giving a miserly yield of 0.75 tons per acre. It displays slightly blacker fruit, a bit more depth and opulence, and a finish that seems endless. Give it 5-6 years of cellaring and enjoy it from 2016 to 2029+. (Dec 2011)"
93 points Stephen Tanzer (International Wine Cellar): "(90+-year-old vines grown at 3,100 feet; 14 h/h; all three of these high-end malbecs spent 15 months in all-new French oak): Deep, bright ruby. Brooding aromas of blackberry, tar, licorice, violet and bitter chocolate. Dense, suave and vibrant, with superb inner-mouth energy to the black fruit, licorice and violet flavors. Really beautifully integrated acidity shows an almost peppery pungency. Finishes very long and lively, with noble, fine-grained tannins and a palate-saturating impression of extract. (Mar/Apr 2012)"
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$109.95
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WS 95
IWC 94
WA 93
Argentina
In stock, 12+ available
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95 points and 'Top 100 Wine of 2012 (#10),' Wine Spectator: "Dark and powerful, yet elegant, with a delicious core of crushed raspberry, blackberry and damson plum notes tightly woven with silky tannins. The minerally finish lingers on with layered flavors of wildflowers, melted licorice and spice box. Drink now through 2020. (10/15/12)"
94 points Stephen Tanzer (International Wine Cellar): "Bright medium ruby. Utterly uncompromising aromas and flavors of blackcurrant, cherry pit, flowers and crushed rock. Savory, dusty and very light on its feet, with superb vinosity and clarity of flavor. Conveys an impression of strong saline extract and little in the way of easy sweetness. A wine of outstanding energy and class, finishing with a firm tannic spine, pungent minerality and uncanny subtle persistence. (Mar/Apr 2013)"
93 points Neal Martin (Wine Advocate): "The Bella Vista is always based on four hectares planted in 1910 and is normally the second vineyard harvested each year. The 2010 Finca Bella Vista is a pure Malbec from Lujan de Cuyo located at 980 meters altitude. Fermented in cement and aged for 16 months in new French barriques from the Mercurey cooperage, it has a sublime bouquet of blackberry, briary, woodland aromas and sous-bois that is all succinctly defined. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe, fine tannins surrounding a core of pure blackberry and wild strawberry fruit, interlaced by lemon rind and dark chocolate towards the controlled, refined finish. This is class from start to finish. Drink 2013-2020+. (Oct 2012)"
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$99.95
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WA 97
IWC 94
Argentina
In stock, 12+ available
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List $150.00
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97 points Jay Miller (Wine Advocate): "[$150 list] The 2008 Adrianna Vineyard Malbec also spent 18 months in 100% new French barriques. It is a similar purple/black in color, with an expressive bouquet of sandalwood, exotic spices, incense, mineral, black cherry, and black raspberry. Broader on the palate than the Nicasia cuvee, it displays serious extraction, great depth of flavor, complexity, and impeccable balance. This loaded, lengthy effort will evolve for at least 5-7 years and offers a drinking window extending from 2024 to 2028. (Dec 2011)"
94 points Stephen Tanzer (International Wine Cellar): "(includes 6% viognier and 2% cabernet franc; the crop level here was well under a ton of fruit per acre): Bright medium ruby. Fascinating nose melds crushed blackberry, violet, flinty minerality and a whiff of game; a bit like Hermitage! Utterly silky in the mouth, but with crisp, harmonious acidity giving cut and lift to the cassis and green fig flavors. Finishes with smooth, substantial, building tannins and a palate-staining kirsch flavor. Winemaker Alejandro Vigil adds back 20% to 30% of the stems to his top bottlings. From a cool vineyard at 4,725 feet where afternoon temperatures rarely exceed 86 degrees, according to Vigil. (Mar/Apr 2012)"
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$99.95
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WA 97
IWC 95
WS 93
Argentina
In stock, 12+ available
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List $140.00
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97 points Jay Miller (Wine Advocate): "The 2008 Argentino Malbec is a blend of 65% Adrianna and 35% Nicasia fruit. It, too, spent 24 months in 100% new French oak. The Argentino offers a similar aromatic and flavor profile but with just a bit of extra nuance, presumably because of the blending. Dense, rich, and voluptuous, this lengthy effort should easily achieve its 20th birthday in peak form. It will be most enjoyable to taste these three wines side-by-side in another 10-15 years. (Dec 2011)"
95 points Stephen Tanzer (International Wine Cellar): "(more or less 100% malbec, according to winemaker Alejandro Vigil): Bright ruby-red. Aromas of cassis, espresso, stone and bitter chocolate, with a violet topnote emerging with air. Wonderfully sweet and silky but also quite penetrating, with a remarkably urgent quality to the crushed berry flavor. Superb minerality and a whiff of fresh herbs contribute to this wine's bracing character. Extremely fine-grained from start to long, vibrant finish. (Mar/Apr 2012)"
93 points Wine Spectator: "Very pure for the vintage, offering a core of racy blackberry, raspberry ganache and spicy fig paste notes that are woven with nuances of Asian spice, mesquite and grilled herb that linger on the long, fruit-filled finish. Drink now through 2015. 400 cases imported. (11/15/11)"
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$89.95
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WA 95
IWC 94
Argentina
In stock, 12+ available
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List $115.00
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95 points Jay Miller (Wine Advocate): "The Catena Zapata icons begin with the 2008 Nicasia Vineyard Malbec, which spent 18 months in 100% new French barriques. A glass-coating opaque purple/black, it offers up a super-fragrant nose of toasty new oak, earth notes, exotic spices, black cherry and black raspberry. This is followed by a plush, layered, intensely flavored, rich wine with potential complexity, precision, balance, and a seamless finish. Give it 4-6 years of cellaring and drink it through 2028. (Dec 2011)"
94 points Stephen Tanzer (International Wine Cellar): "(aged in all-new French barriques; includes 6% cabernet franc and 2% each pinot noir and viognier): Bright ruby-red. Pungent, high-pitched blackberry, black cherry and mineral aromas complicated by notes of peach, citrus peel and flowers. Penetrating and sweet, with compelling inner-mouth aromatic character and lively harmonious acidity. For all its richness, this malbec is remarkably light on its feet, thanks to the strong calcaire influence. Finishes with noble, tooth-dusting tannins and outstanding lingering perfume. Alejandro Vigil, who took over as chief winemaker at Catena in 2007, has been adding small percentages of other varieties to the Adrianna and Nicasia Vineyard malbec bottlings in search of greater complexity and individuality. (Mar/Apr 2012)"
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$114.95
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WA 98
WS 93
W&S 93
Argentina
In stock, 12+ available
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List $135.00
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98 points Jay Miller (Wine Advocate): "[$135 list] The 2008 Nicolas Catena Zapata is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Malbec, and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc that spent 24 months in 100% new French oak followed by 24 months in bottle prior to release. It delivers an inviting bouquet of wood smoke, pencil lead, espresso, incense, lavender, black currant, and black cherry. This sets the stage for a full-bodied, powerful yet elegant, beautifully proportioned effort with great depth and volume. It conceals plenty of structure and will effortlessly evolve for 6-8 years, drinking well through 2028, if not longer. (Dec 2011)"
93 points Wine Spectator: "[$135 list] Dark and concentrated, with a creamy edge to its jammy cassis, blueberry preserve and black cherry skin notes. There's fine tannins and enough acidity to keep the spice- and tobacco-tinged finish moving along. Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Drink now through 2018. (10/31/12)"
93 points and 'Year's Best Argentine Malbec,' Wine & Spirits: "[$135 list] Do not be put off by the amount of new oak on this wine, which is substantial. Instead, give it time in a decanter and you’ll find deliciously ripe red fruit along with such an elegant texture that the wine glides effortlessly through a long finish. This is Catena’s top blend, a selection of cabernets sauvignon and franc, malbec and petit verdot from vineyards in Uco and Agrelo. (Jun 2012)"
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