Nose

bs.

Growing Conditions

- La Pirámide Vineyard: 3,117 ft (950 m). Agrelo District, Luján de Cuyo Region, Mendoza, Argentina. Deep alluvial loam with 30% clay that decreases soil temperature by 35,6ºF (2ºC) in average. Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Domingo Vineyard: 3,675 ft (1,120 m). Villa Bastías District, Tupungato Region, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina. Surface is completely covered with gravel. Alluvial topsoil is loamy with limestone deposits at 11,8 inches (30cm). Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Nicasia Vineyard: 3,593 ft (1,095 m). Altamira en La Consulta District, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina. Very shallow loamy topsoil with surface gravel and gravelly (large stones) dry river bed subsoil - optimal drainage. Malbec.
- Adrianna Vineyard: 4,757 ft (1,450 m). Gualtallary District, Tupungato Region, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina. Alluvial, gravelly with limestone deposits in the topsoil. Malbec.

The 2010 Harvest is all about low quantity and high quality. If there was ever a year to show that low yields matter for quality, 2010 was it. The good news is that many thousands of hectares of new vineyards were planted in the last five years, and these vineyards are coming into production, so total volume is actually up overall from last year.

The low yields are due to a cold spring that delayed bud break and some scattered frosts that led to uneven flowering in many areas. January and February were quite warm and there were no rains after mid February. Perfectly ripe, healthy grapes with great concentration have characterized this vintage. The snowmelt from the Andes was pure and plentiful. Because of the cold spring, the harvest was late in most regions; 10-15 days later than average.

The areas most affected by the spring frosts, Ugarteche and Anchoris in Lujan de Cuyo and Altamira in La Consulta in the Uco Valley, saw yields reduced significantly between 20 and 80%. Agrelo and Perdriel in Lujan de Cuyo and Gualtallary and Tupungato in the Uco Valley were less affected, with yields only down about 10-20% in average. The East was not significantly affected by frost, but summer hail was ubiquitous and growers without hail netting saw yields down 50-80% - a true natural disaster.

Our overall yields are down 20-25%. Fortunately, the now 6-10 year old [it was planted in phases] Angelica Sur vineyard in Eugenio Bustos, is just glorious, and the Malbec from there has been a welcome addition to the Catena program over the last two years.

It is hard to complain about the low yields when you taste and see the concentration and richness of the wines in the tanks and barrels.

Harvest

Malbec: Angelica Vineyard (Maipu) and La Piramide Vineyard (Agrelo) Vineyards, started March 11-20, several passes by lots up until April 6; Nicasia (Altamira in La Consulta) April 28-May 4, later than usual because of the very cold spring; Adrianna (Gualtallary) March 15 - April 26 lot by lot harvest, brix were never higher than 24.5.