2016 Catena Zapata ‘Adrianna’ Mundus Bacillus Terrae Malbec

WA97 The 2016 Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae is from a cold and rainy El Niño vintage that broke the mold of typical Mendoza weather. The grapes were picked a bit later and achieved a slow, perfect ripening while retaining very good freshness. They used 50% full clusters in this cooler year. The wine was pressed before it finished fermenting (in concrete), and the juice—without skins, pips or stems—finished fermenting like a white in the foudre. When I tasted the wines after bottling, this felt a bit dizzy, with the aromatics coming and going, sometimes showing a little open. But the wine settled in bottle, and the palate shows the core of acidity that lifts the wine and provides incredible freshness; the tannins are ultra refined, and there is great overall balance. Yields were lower, so they only filled some 3,360 bottles.

VIN96+ Bright saturated ruby. At once more exotic and less exuberant than the 2016 version, with the nose showing a chocolatey ripeness as well as a brooding black-fruit-and-mineral quality. Much more backward on the palate too, with its dark fruit flavors dominated in the early going by powerful mineral grip and building, spreading tannins. But the density and finesse of this wine is already obvious. This hugely concentrated Malbec will need several years to gain in pliancy and sweetness and approach its full aromatic potential. When I originally tasted this wine next to its 2016 sibling, I gravitated to the earlier vintage for its energy and definition, but when I retasted the ’17 later on its own, I was knockout out by its finesse of texture and sappy length. And it held up spectacularly for more than a week in the recorked bottle. Very impressive!

JS96 Aromas of violets, blueberries and black licorice follow through to a full body with tight and restrained tannins and a lively acidity. An energetic and youthful wine. Can age wonderfully but exciting to taste now.