Bodega Catena Zapata Malbec High Mountain Vines 2017

Vinous 93 points - (13.3% alcohol; bottled last November; 95% of this wine is from Uco Valley fruit, the rest from Lunlunta): Bright ruby-red. Expressive aromas of dark raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, licorice, violet, tobacco and herbs, plus a whiff of leather. The palate delivers lovely pure dark fruit flavors at moderate alcohol, with hints of peppery herbs and minerals giving the wine very good cut and lift. Finishes classically dry and long. A lot of wine for the price..July/2018

Wine Advocate 91 points - I compared the 2016 with the 2017 Catena Malbec, one of their most popular bottlings. Even though the vintage was not as cool as 2016, the wine keeps great freshness and elegance and is very harmonious, with integrated oak and focused flavors. 1.2 million bottles produced and bottled in three different lots..June/2018

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