A family-owned winery, started by Nicola Catena who moved to Mendoza from the Marche region of Italy in 1898 and planted his first Malbec vineyard in 1902. Located in the sub appellation of Agrelo, the winery building is based on Mayan architecture and looks like a pyramid.
One of three Malbecs from the Adrianna vineyard in Gualtallary, the 2017 Adrianna Vineyard River Stones was surprisingly fresh for the conditions of the year. They discarded a small plot that was a little too ripe. The wine fermented with full clusters and finished fermenting without skins or stems (like a white), and this was done with 100% of the volume, because in previous years, it was done for maybe 70% of the wine. This helps with the texture and the minerality, a mouthfeel rather than a flavor, reminiscent of the stony soils covered with limestone. This tends to be the most austere of the three bottlings, but it shows a little more fruit; and there is a lot of acidity, but it’s nicely coated by the fruit. The result is a beautifully textured Malbec that seems to open up slowly in the glassa 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. 4,800 bottles were filled in December 2018.
Anticipated maturity: 2019-2030
