Wines (12 View)

90+ points Wine Advocate
The 2021 Malbec offers varietal and regional typicity at a very affordable price. There are violets, berries and a touch of sweet spices with a juicy and round palate with almost unnoticeable tannins.

90 points James Suckling
Nice sour cherries with a streak of white pepper and violets. Medium-bodied, but fleshy. Ripe, almost creamy tannins extend to the finish, but are still juicy and vibrant. Not complex, but so balanced and easy to drink. Drink now.

97 points Wine Advocate
The 2019 Malbec Appellation Gualtallary comes from specific soils, two small three-hectare plots in the Cerros del Jaboncillo, where they find more caliche and limestone in Tupungato Winelands. They believe this place transmits the maximum expression of limestone to Malbec, giving a structured wine with fine-grained tannins with the wilderness from Gualtallary. It fermented in small concrete vats with indigenous yeasts at some 26 degrees Celsius for 20 days. Eighty-five percent of the volume matured in untoasted 3,500-liter French oak foudres for 20 months while the rest was kept in concrete. They sell it a little later than the Altamira because they feel Gualtallary needs a little more time in bottle; therefore, they are now offering the 2019 vintage, a very balanced wine that talks about the place where it was born. This is vibrant and expressive, with a complex nose and especially a lively palate with effervescent acidity and very fine-boned with elegant but firm tannins (they say "Serralunga-like" tannins). I find the recurring iron-like note of blood and fresh meat here too, intermixed with the wild flowers, herbs and spices. This has depth and complexity, and if Altamira is Barbaresco, Gualtallary is Barolo... 10,000 bottles were filled in January 2022.

90 points James Suckling
A round, juicy red with plum, chocolate and berry aromas and flavors. Chewy, yet caressing with a long, flavorful finish. Hints of biscuits and balsamic. Drink now

Winery Notes:
"These fun, fresh and incredibly enjoyable wines are true to varietal character and can be enjoyed on their own or with your favorite dishes. The Astica Malbec offers a pure, fruit driven example of Argentina's signature grape. Medium in body with juicy berry flavors and a finish of soft tannins"

92 pts Vinous
Bright, dark medium ruby. Lively aromas and flavors of crushed blackberry, licorice, bitter chocolate and mocha. Densely packed, fine-grained and savory, with its ripe, creamy flavors complicated by a wild gamey quality. As rich, concentrated and deep as this wine is, it's not over the top. This outstanding Malbec finishes ripely tannic and long, with compelling sweetness of fruit. (14.9% alcohol; this wine represents a blend of vineyards and altitudes in Calchaqui Valley; aged for 15 months in a mix of one- to ten-year-old French barriques).

91 points James Suckling
Dark olives and some fresh leafiness to the black plums and dark cherries. A very smooth red with creamy tannins and juicy fruit, which give it a lot of immediate appeal. Delicious now.

Organic

A medium-bodied wine with surprising depth and savory notes for its modest price. It is forward and easygoing offering up an enticing nose of spice box and black cherry. This provides much pleasure and is an ideal barbecue wine. 3 months in French Nancy oak vats ranging in size from 5,000-25,000 liters. Organically farmed.

The Lopez family is now in its 5th generation with 4th generation brothers Carlos and Eduardo at the helm. The winery was founded in 1898 by Jose Gregorio Lopez Rivas. Jose immigrated to Argentina from Algarrobo in Malaga, Spain in 1886. In Spain, Jose was a grape and olive grower, and he came to Argentina to escape the devastation from phylloxera that had come to Andalusia. In Argentina, he worked very hard and saved money to bring his brother Rafael and his mother Feranda and other family members to Argentina. Jose and Rafael managed to rent a small piece of land in Maipu where they grew grapes and began to make their own wines. The first and founding brand was called “El Vasquito” and the current brand of Vasco Viejo pays homage to those wines

93 points Wine Advocate
The 2018 Catena Alta Malbec shows more evolution and ripeness than the 2019. It's varietal and floral with a mixture of red and black fruit, sweet spices and aromatic herbs. It has moderate ripenessin fact, it's a little lower in alcohol than the 2019a medium body and fine-grained tannins, with good grip.


92 points Vinous
I devoted nearly a full day to tasting at the Catena Zapata winery in Agrelo as Argentina’s #1 producer offers excellent to otherworldly wines at a range of price points-and that’s not even including the superb wines made by Nicolas Catena’s daughter Laura and son Ernesto, and the Bodega Aleanna label of his own multi-talented winemaker Alejandro Vigil. - From Argentina’s Wines Enter the World Stage (Jul 2018) by Stephen Tanzer

92 points Wine Advocate
The excellent and floral 2019 Catena Malbec shows the typicity of the grape, violets and red berries, and the freshness of the year. It has the textbook aromas and a soft and velvety mouthfeel, with very fine grainy tannins.