Catena Zapata Adrianna River Stones Malbec 2015 (750ML)

96 JS / 95 WA

A very intense hot-stone character with some limestone and iron. Blackberries and dark tea. White salt,too. Full-bodied, round and juicy. A rich finish. Flamboyant. Drink now or hold. James Suckling

The 2015 Adrianna Vineyard River Stones is from the stonier part of Adrianna Vineyard in Gualtallary, from vines right next to the river bed at 1,349 meters in altitude, a part that tends to produce more austere wines. There is higher ripeness compared with 2014 and 2016. Even though it might show a little more exuberant in comparison, the palate reveals an austere wine that has a large personality but is superbly balanced, with very fine-grained tannins and very good balance. But sometimes comparisons can be tedious, and there are wines that suffer. This is one of them, but it is still superb. 4,800 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2017. Luis Gutiérrez – The Wine Advocate