After my recent note on the more expensive Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon, Alejandro asked me if I had tried the more modestly priced Angelica Zapata Cabernet Sauvignon. Always eager to compare in the name of (subjective) science:
2003 Angelica Zapata Cabernet Sauvignon Mendoza 14% (US price $N/A/Argentina price $25/Brazil price US$41)
Dark plum color. Aromas of malted milk nose (cocoa & vanilla) and sour cherry. Like the Catena Alta, this smells more like malbec than Bordeaux, suggesting that terroir and vinification have a greater impact than the grape at Catena. Light tannins, decent acidity, lighter mouth feel and shorter finish than Catena Alta. Some smoked meat notes emerge with aeration. Noticeable alcohol, insufficiently integrated. I prefer the Catena Malbec. Aged 12 months in French (65%) and American (35%) oak, 63% of it new.
The Catena Zapata lineup seems to have at least six levels, some available only in domestic markets (which include other southern cone countries like Brazil). The humblest level, Alamos, is distributed worldwide, but for the most part doesn’t deliver for me (I hear the Torrontés is acceptable, but haven’t tried it yet). The second level, exemplified by the Catena Malbec, is also available internationally, and represents good value and decent drinking. The third and fourth levels, D.V. Catena and Angelica Zapata, are only available domestically, and (IMHO) global consumers are not missing anything. These two appear to me as attempts by Catena to occupy a price niche between Catena Malbec (US $12/Brazil US$26) and Catena Alta Malbec (US $40/Brazil US$62) without delivering substantially more than the former. It is surely no coincidence that they are not exported – perhaps the gatekeepers at US importers found their cost/benefit unacceptable. The fifth level Catena Alta is, indeed, a substantially finer wine, but purchase is harder to justify at the much higher prices. I have yet to try the highest level Catena wines, like the Nicolas Catena (US $80/Brazil US$185).