An Evening with Catena Zapata

Yesterday I had the good fortune of winning a contest to dine with the wine educator Jeff Mausbach from Catena Zapata and taste a full range of their high end wines. I was joined by 4 other winners, all of whom were very nice and very much unpretentiously passionate about wine, and the rep from the wine importing company that brings Catena into Canada (Calibrium) who was also quite insightful about the wine business. It was a great night and a great chance to taste some brilliant Argentine wines. I drank everything with lamb chops - a very nice combination.

A little bit on Catena Zapata: a winery that takes their wine making very very seriously, sparing no expense, these guys have been experimenting for decades to find the perfect vineyard sites and blends to make wines that can compete with the best in the world. Nicolas Catena apparently holds a PhD in statistical economics and taught for two years at Berkeley in the 80's, all the while visiting wineries in Napa and honing his techniques. Often taking years to experiment before releasing any wine, Catena has a very serious attitude towards quality. Jeff at the dinner put it well when he said a mantra of the winery is a famous quote from a french winemaker that "tradition is an experiment that worked". An interesting premise that exposes the relationship between risk, innovation and cultural acclimation. Catena certainly has an interesting philosophy of wine and wine-making, and I think this shows very well in their wines.

Before the dinner, I attended an in-store tasting with Catena of several of their 'lower end' wines, all of which were quite impressive for their price point, and I will start with my impressions of those.

Alamos Chardonnay 2007

On the nose I got toasty vanilla and pineapple, with the palate continuing the pineapple trend into citrus territory. There was a relatively strong sense of oak on the back end, but this was buoyed by a solid acidic structure that made this really stand out for its price.

Very Good
$15 at Everything Wine


Alamos Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Light in colour for Cabernet, this wasn't what I expected. A light berry nose of raspberry and blackberry was doubled in the palate and coupled by a very subtle touch of oak, and, again, firm acidity. The tannins were quite subdued with this very food friendly but also very light Cabernet. A good value.

Very Good
$18 at Everything Wine


Alamos Syrah 2006

Adding weight as I moved along the reds, this syrah was quite fantastic in its minerality and roundness of flavour. Cherries and currants with secondary flavours of earth, chocolate and coffee, this had impressive structure for its price.

Very Good+
$18 at Everything Wine


Catena Malbec 2006

Entering much richer territory, the Catena Malbec had a big meaty nose coupled with cassis and a touch of old world funk. The palate offered pepper, coffee, vanilla, and a very long finish for this price point. Perhaps slightly hot in the back end, this was very slight and would probably diminish with one hour of decanting. This, to me, is an everyday wine par excellence.

Very Good+ to Excellent
$23 at Everything Wine


After the in-store tasting, we headed off to Arm's Reach Bistro in Deep Cove for a fantastic flight of high end Catena goodness, starting with a white...

Catena Alta Chardonnay 2005

A very well made buttery style chard that yet had sufficient restraint to prevent it from becoming an 'oak monster'. A big nose of very rich nectarine and plush citrus fruits, the palate coupled the fruityness with creamy and caramelly oak. Yet, as with all the wines from Catena I had tasted up to this point, the core of acidity was well placed and held the wine up very well. While I tend to like slightly less oaky and creamy chardonnays, this is a superb example of that style.

Very Good+
$40 at Everything Wine


Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Now we're talking. A fantastic plummy, blackberry, chocolate and Eucalyptus nose that expanded into cedar, bitter chocolate and plum on the palate. A big fruit-driven wine that was still very very balanced. I found this cab to be quite napa-like, but I would expect to pay twice this in napa for the same quality. The cab also had a very solid integrative structure, and fine tannins that lifted the fruit into a very full-bodied palate.

Excellent
$54 at Everything Wine


Catena Alta Malbec 2005

One important item to note was that the serving temperature of all these wines was perfect, probably sitting at around 14-15 degrees. The temperature really helped bring out the fruit and purity of the wine and I think was essential to their quality. The Malbec had a plummy and earthy nose, but was fruitier and perhaps even richer than the cab. The palate was earthy and gamey, and reminded me a little of a good southern rhone wine, without any rough edges. The astonishing thing to me with all the wines was the perfect balance they achieved between alcohol, acidity, oak, fruit, tannin and secondary flavours. It was a remarkable achievement. Personally I think this Malbec maybe needed a little more bottle age to show its full complexity, but was quite a fantastic wine nontheless.

Very Good+ to Excellent
$65 at Everything Wine or BCLDB


Nicolas Catena Zapata 2004

What a stunner. A blend of 78% Cab and 22% Malbec, this wine could easily be compared to top-fight wines from around the world. Wines, that is, that sell for substantially more dollars. A rich super-intense nose of briar fruit, eucalyptus, and cream puff - not explosive, but incredibly expressive. While the palate had great purity in its blackberry and cassis fruit, this wine was all about finesse, impressive structure, and balance very very rarely seen in wine. With the lamb chops this stood out as the ideal pairing. Truly world-class - this is a must buy for me.

Excellent+
$110


So, in the end, a fantastic event that I was very pleased to be a part of. This experience has convinced me of the world-class quality of wines available from Argentina and I will never forget the stunning revelation of the last wine. Thanks to all who made this possible, and thanks, mostly, to the winemaker. A Bodega worth noticing.

Quinta do Crasto Touriga Nacionale 2001

I've become quite fascinated with Portuguese dry reds in the past couple year after tasting a Quinta do Crasto old vine Douro blend from 2004. Over time I managed to pick up a fair sampling of Crasto's more expensive bottlings on sale at the signature store in downtown Vancouver. The aging potential is still not the same as top french wines, but I like the fact that these wines can be consumed younger - I already have enough stuff waiting in the cellar as it is.

The nose on this Varietal wine (Touriga Nacionale) was rich in bacon fat and luscious dark fruit. The palate was incredibly silky with blueberry, chocolate, and dark berry compote. Round and port-like, this was also delicate with very fine tannin. Perhaps fading slightly now, this could have used a bit more grip, but the elegance and rich luscious fruity goodness was unmistakable. So, while this wine didn't have a crazy bevy of complex layers nor a particularly long finish, it did have incredible purity of fruit. And, that is pretty enjoyable in itself.

Excellent
$80 ($54 on sale)

El Maestro Sierra Fino

The march of the sherry bottles continues. This fino was another NYC purchase and added a great deal of complexity to the mix compared to the Manzanilla I just reviewed. With a nose of banana chip, musty oak, a slight Gewerztaminer element and baked brown sugar I was quite entranced. Pairing superbly with cured meats, the palate was quite expansive with smoky, spicey, fennel-esque and herbal notes all coming together in a well structured very food friendly sip. Highly recommended.

Excellent
$15 for 375ml in NYC

Doudet Naudin 'Les Vignots' Pommard 2005

A Savigny-Les-Beaune from 2005 that came recommended as a fantastic early drinking example. Pommards can be iffy, but I trusted the recommendation and was glad I did.

The nose was very typical, but had excellent concentration and intensity: cherries, burnt hay, barnyard. Pommards are known for power and this certainly fell along those lines with a palate that brough all the nosed flavours together with a spiced backbone, medium tannin, sharp acidity, superb balance and a nice long finish. This is very high quality juice with a firm and potent structure. If you are looking for an 05 burgundy to open now - this is a good candidate.

Excellent
$50 at Everything Wine

La Cigarrera Manzanilla Sherry

I am not sure why, but the marvelous style of wine from Andalucia in Spain seems mostly lost to North Americans. Perhaps it was the dominance of nasty British cream sherries that did it. Nonetheless, the rediscovery of sherry is beginning and I have finally jumped on for the ride. I recommend any self-respecting wine-geek to do the same as there are some stunning experiences to be had. I am planning on heading to Jerez next year and am very very excited given my experiences so far.

This is the first sherry I tried in a traditional style. Manzanilla's are very very dry and should be consumed young. The nose on this had the distinctively oxydized smell that typifies sherry, but also brought forward raisins, nectarine and honey. The sherry itself was a little thin in flavour, but was certainly nutty and salty - a bit like the sea. Very dry and acidic, this is meant to pair with food, particularly cured meats and tapas, which I did. Pairing sherry is perhaps the most fantastic experience I've had with pairing yet. So, while in the end I found this particular sherry a tad too alcoholic (insofar as I could taste too much alcohol), at the price it was a good buy. And, it began my journey towards even more exciting sherries, many of which will pop up in future posts.

Very Good
$15 for 375ml in NYC

Alto Moncayo 2003

This Spanish wine comes from the little known Campo de Borja region and is 100% Grenache. 2003 being a hot year, I expected alcohol, and this beast brought home over 15% alcohol by volume, although it carried this quite well. The nose had classic sweet cherry notes and an interesting aroma of rich nuttyness, reminiscent of hazlenut. The palate expanded the sweet cherry into meatyness and a pronounced scorched earth flavour and texture (probably from the heat, although I find this characteristic of old-world Grenache).

The structure of the wine was well-rounded and had good balance for such high alcohol. A nice touch of oak led into a slight scent of bitterness on the back end, which I was unsure if I liked or not. Tasty, but overpriced.

Very Good+
$65 ($42 on sale) at BCLDB

Markus Molitor Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese Riesling 2005

The other day brought the consumption of yet another German Riesling due to my propensity to eat asian food. Coming from a small but respected producer in Mosel, the wine's nose was very burnt and petrolly, with a touch of limey minerality. In a word, a standard nose with a bit more concentration than usual.

The palate was lime and rich apple (perhaps something like Royal Gala), but brought little else to the table. Well made, concentrated, but nothing super exciting, despite the vineyard and the vintage.

Very Good+
$42 at Private Liquor Stores