Catena ZapataAdrianna Vineyards River Malbec 2020

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.

The 2019 was a hard act to follow, but the 2020 Adrianna Vineyard River kept its poise, though it showed a little riper and with grainier tannins that gave it some faint rusticity and earthiness. This is one of three Malbecs from the Adrianna Vineyard in Gualtallary, from a stony part of the vineyard, hence its name. The wine matured in large oak foudres, and the oak is still perceptible and might need a little more time to get integrated. This tends to be the most austere of the three bottlings, even in the warmer years like 2020, and it shows a little more fruit. It's juicy but beautifully textured with a spicy twist of curry that reminded me of some bottlings from El Enemigo in El Cepillo. It seems to open up slowly in the glass—the violet and berry aromas get complicated by some spice (curry?)—and the palate feels more layered. This is a superb expression of the austere wildness of Gualtallary. 5,700 bottles were filled in December 2021.

The 2020 Malbec Catena Zapata Adrianna Vineyard River was 50% fermented in whole bunches and spent 18 months in new and used barrels. Purple in the glass. The nose delivers notes of ripe fruit such as plum and sour cherry with herbs and a whiff of raspberry. The palate is both creamy and juicy with a delicate but forthright expression and a flow that delivers plenty of flavor; the texture is sheer chalk. Accomplished and saline, the finish lasts long. It’s interesting how this wine flirts with a skeletal structure before flexing its muscles, which is the kind of thing you get from a cool region in a warm year.
-- Joaquín Hidalgo