D.V. Catena Tinto Historico 2021 | |
 |  | Buenos Aires is known as the Paris of South America. Why? I have no clue. Let me tell you what I do know. From the 1880s to the 1950s, Argentina had a lot of land that needed residents. The government offered free and subsidized land to families as an incentive to populate and work their vast open tracks of land. Italy and other countries, ravaged by World War 2 and facing overpopulation, political instability, and poverty, were driven to seek a better life abroad. Between the 1850s and the 1950s, 3.5 million Italians immigrated to Argentina. In addition, a large-scale migration to Argentina by European immigrants from German-speaking countries began in the early 1930s, fleeing fascism in their homelands. Argentina became and remains the most Europeanized country in South America. For most upwardly mobile Argentines, "European" was synonymous with "French," and their capital, Buenos Aires, became known as the "Paris of South America," complete with modeling their buildings after Parisian hotels and collecting Impressionist paintings. Along with this transformation rose a new culture of chic restaurants and bistros thirsty for local wines in the style of Paris. Catena wines were happy to fill that need.
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 | | In 1898, Nicola Catena sailed from Italy to Argentina, leaving behind his famine-stricken European homeland for a new beginning. A tireless optimist, Nicola celebrated his new life each morning by devouring a piece of raw steak for breakfast. 1902, he was the first to plant Malbec in Mendoza, starting the Catena family heritage. Domingo, Nicola's eldest son, inherited his father's dream and took the family winery to the next level, building Catena's business to become one of the largest vineyard holders in Mendoza. Domingo Vicente Catena was famous in the 1930s for his deep, dark red wine blend, which he sold in small barrels sent by train to Buenos Aires. Gaining a reputation for his blending skills, Dominngo made a wine he called Tinto Buenos Aires, considered the best wine in all the upscale restaurants. The red blend was served from the barrel, and the restaurateurs then bottled it to serve at the tables. This week's featured wine, DV Catena Tinto Historico Red Blend, is made in honor of Don Domingo Catena's famed red blend that was so popular in Paris of South America, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Vicente Catena married Angélica Zapata in 1934, giving birth to the Catena Zapata family wine tradition. With a singular sense of passion and dedication, he devoted his life to improving the cultivation of the vine in Mendoza. Domingo Vicente Catena thought that Malbec could make a wine as great as the best of France. Upon his death, his son Nicolás Catena honored his father by making Malbec World famous. Today, Laura Catena, Domingo Vicente Catena's granddaughter, continues the family tradition of making the best wines Argentina has to offer.
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D.V. Catena Historico is made by fourth-generation vintner Laura Catena and chief winemaker Alejandro Vigil, who have worked together since 2002 to express the family's vineyards and palate. The wine is a blend of four 3,000-foot-elevation vineyards harvested at different times for optimal ripeness. The magic and grandeur of these sites come through in the glass in striking fashion. Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Bonarda ripened slowly throughout a prolonged growing season. The winemaking process includes a five-day cold maceration to extract aromas, followed by 16 days of fermentation and a 22-day post-fermentation maceration, aged 8-14 months in French oak barrels before bottling.
The opportunity to taste sites like these for under $ $20 is truly rare, especially from a legendary winery like Catena Zapata.
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As can be expected from high-altitude grapes, skin/juice ratio was high, resulting from the small berry size, made for highly concentrated wines with great color. Acidities ran higher than usual due to the cool climate.
Black fruit and flowers from Uco Valley Malbec laced with spicy Petit Verdot. Malbec lends freshness and smoothness, while Bonarda grants volume and persistence, conferring a lush, rich attack and wonderful length to the blend.
Blend: 75% Malbec, 18% Bonarda, 7% Petit Verdot
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The 2021 DV Catena Tinto HistĂłrico was produced with a blend of 75% Malbec, 18% Bonarda, and 7% Petit Verdot matured in oak barrels for eight to 14 months, depending on the lot, as the grapes were vinified and aged separately. It has a medium-bodied palate and enough spice and tastiness to keep the juicy, fruit-driven profile. It finishes long, clean, and tasty in a classical style. Wine Advocate 91 pts
The 2021 Tinto Histórico DV Catena is a blend of 75% Malbec, 18% Bonarda, and 7% Petit Verdot from Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley and was aged for eight months in new and used barrels. It's garnet red in the glass. The ripe, liqueur-like nose offers sour cherry and plum notes leavened by fresh herbal notes over a pleasant secondary layer from the aging process. Quite smooth with good volume, the flow is juicy yet a little compressed in the mouth. Vinous 92 pts
A fragrant nose full of vivid strawberries and sweet cherries. Tight and lightly chewy on the palate with plenty of fruit. Juicy, balanced, and quite drinkable. James Suckling 92 pts
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D.V. Catena Tinto Historico 2021 | I was pretty sure I had tasted all the Catena Zapata wines, but I'm getting old and forget things. I was asked to try the D.V. Catena Historico and immediately wondered where this wine had been that I didn't know about. This may be the find of the year, and those who tasted it with me agreed. The wine pours a dark, opaque garnet color. The nose was full of fruit, plum, and pomegranate. It was lush on the palate with flavors of Rainier cherries, freshly pressed pomegranate juice, and black tea, cherry tart balanced by savory flavors of briny Kalamata olives, cardamom, roasted beats, and persimmon. Acids balanced by mild tannins make this wine a keeper. It had a long, persistent, bitter cherry finish. I can see how this blend would do well in a restaurant by-the-glass program due to its versatility with food, and it is also delightful by itself. This well-kept secret is a fantastic find at $12 a bottle after rebates. Like most of the staff, I will buy some to enjoy with friends in our backyard Paris-style bistros. Now, where did I put my beret? | |
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*Sale price is on 6 or more bottle purchase
Mail In Rebate $2 on 6-bottle purchase
Final cost is $13.00 a bottle
Mail In Rebate $3 on 12-bottle purchase
Final cost is $12.00 a bottle
Limit one MIR per mailing address
Wine is packed in a 12-bottle case
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*Wine pricing for these wine promotions are held for two weeks after the email offer.
We can hold wines in unpaid reserves for two weeks to allow you time to pick up your wine. If it takes you longer than that to pick up your wines, give us a call, and we can process your wine and move it to paid reserves.
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Orders must be done by replying to this email. The reason is that I need to keep control of the inventory in one central spot. Emailing or calling your favorite wine geek at one of our four stores may not get your orders in on time to be counted or processed and this creates a helter-skelter for us to get you the wine. For the same reason, ordering on our online Web Store is linked to our regular price, and this sale price is only offered on the email platform. It is also why it takes me some time to respond due to the deluge of orders that I sometimes get. We haven't reached the efficiency or volume of Amazon yet. Thank you in advance for your patience. | |
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Let me know your preferred store for pickup: Attleboro, Norwood, Sturbridge, or Swansea. If you don't state the store, I will assume you are picking up in Sturbridge.
Place your order now while you've got everything in front of you. Reply to this email along with your name and which store you want to pick it up.
I will confirm your order via email when it is ready for pickup. Please give us at least 48 hours to respond.
Cheers!
—John Hannum, Fine & Rare Wine Specialist
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Attleboro
628 Washington St.
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Norwood
942 Providence Hgwy.
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Sturbridge
376 Main Street.
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Swansea
207 Swansea Mall Dr.
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Monday-Saturday
9AM to 9PM
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We reserve the right to limit quantities. You must be at least 21 years of age to purchase/consume alcohol. Please drink responsibly. Not responsible for typographical errors. Rebate quantities are subject to limitation by the manufacturer. These alcoholic beverages may be subject to payment of Connecticut or Rhode Island Alcoholic Beverage Tax and Connecticut Use Tax, and may be subject to seizure as contraband. | | | | |
