Opening with dense blackberry/boysenberry fruit and a black olive savouriness the aromas then shift to reveal lifted qualities of purple florals and fragrant sweet spice. The palate shows a lovely weight and concentration of fruit, balanced by a charming elegance and finesse. Not at all shy on tannins (integrated and ripe).

Aromatics: Prunes, black berries, elegant earthiness and leather notes. This opens up in the glass after just a few minutes. Palate: An outstanding wine from a great vintage. Concentrated, with ripe black berries, plum, cooked fruits and blackcurrants. The texture is smooth and the tannins ripe. The wine persists on the palate, and you wonder when the finish ends. A special wine.

Nicolas Catena planted his first Malbec vinyeard in Mendoza in 1902. His grandson, Nicolas Catena is known as the man who revolutionized Argentine wine and introduced high altitude Malbec to the world. The Historic Catena Zapata vineyards are planted with the Catena family's proprietary selection of malbec plants: the Catena cuttings, Catena Alta Malbec is sourced from Block 18 of the Angélica vineyard, Block 1 of the Nicasia vineyard, Block 6 of the Angélica Sur vineyard and Block 3 & 9 of the Adrianna vineyard.

With plenty of blackberry, plum, mulberry and menthol-like fruit and fine, rusty, almost unyielding tannins, this is a strong, firm wine by Wendouree with plenty of lasting power. The Shiraz component derives from vineyard plots that include bush vine material. Parcels of very old vine Malbec bring further distinctiveness. The wine is vinified in open fermenters and matured for 12 months in new and used French oak.

The Catena family is entering its second century of winemaking in Mendoza, Argentina. Named after Nicolas Catena Zapata's youngest daughter, the Adrianna Vineyard is located at almost 5,000 feet elevation in Mendoza. The soils in this 1.4 hectare parcel are filled with scattered limestone and marine deposits that covered the region millions of years ago. In 1898, Nicola Catena left his homeland of Italy, and sailed for the land of plenty and opportunity: Argentina. It wasn't long before Nicola planted his first Malbec vineyard in Mendoza in 1902. Although traditionally used as a blending grape in Bordeaux, Nicola believed in the potential of Malbec as a single varietal wine, and suspected that it might uncover its hidden splendour in the cooler climes of the Andes. Flash forward a few decades, to where Nicola's grandson, Nicolas Catena Zapata, has taken over the management of the business. He sold off the bulk producing parts of the company, focusing instead on producing premium Mlabec and Cabernet. To that end, he began searching for the best sites in Mendoza to plant. In 1992, he settled on Gualtallary Alto - the highest and moste Western part of Tupungato. Today, the wines of Bodega Catena Zapata are sourced from six historic estate vineyards: Angélica, La Pirámide, Nicasia, Domingo, Adrianna and Angélica Sur.