Catena Zapata Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae 2021 Mendoza

Jane Anson
100/100 punten
Violets and herb-strewn rose petals curl out of the glass, along with cola, mint, flint, slate, hawthorn, blueberry and black cherry fruit. One of the things that I love about this wine is how it rewrites the perception of Argentinian Malbec that is is known for its velvety sweet and smooth flavours, whereas this puts the texture and the grip back to its heart, along with a vivid brightness of fruit. There is chocolate here, but it is cocoa bean, focused and gripping and full of joy. Alejandro Vigil winemaker. Tasted twice.

James Suckling
99/100 punten  
A complex yet super discreet nose with hints of wet stone, wet earth, peppercorn and graphite to the red and blue fruits. An elegant expression but this has an intense mid-palate with tight but silky tannins. Long, complex and soft-spoken. Nothing conspicuous here. Impeccable interplay between concentration and purity. Will age really well. Drinkable now but better from 2025.

Luis Guttiérez, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
98+/100 punten
The 2021 Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae comes from 1.4 hectares within the Adrianna vineyard in Gualtallary, planted in 1992 at 1,390 meters above sea level. It's from a cooler year in Mendoza with some frost that delivered low yields and wines of good concentration and ripeness. It has 13.9% alcohol and notable acidity (7.3 grams of tartaric acid per liter of wine). Seventy-five percent of the volume started fermenting in concrete with 50% full clusters and the rest without stems or skins, only juice, in oak foudres and aged in oak barrels for 15 to 18 months. This is very straight, elegant and balanced, following the path toward elegance that started in 2019. The wine closed down in the glass and slowly unfurled layers of complexity. It's textured, with very fine-grained tannins and great balance, a very subtle note of spices and a very elegant mouthfeel. This wine has been getting better and better in the last few years, getting closer to the more austere profile of the River bottling from Adrianna vineyard (which is still a little more austere than this in the great 2021 vintage). 5,400 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2022.
Catena Zapata, one of the leading producers in Argentina, also reserves a couple of their top bottlings to be sold through the négociant system in Bordeaux. They have also developed a new unoaked white that will be sold through that channel, a small quantity of 2021 and a little more 2022 that are sold simultaneously.

Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous
97/100 punten
The 2021 Malbec Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Basilus is sourced from a small plot in Gualtallary, characterized by shallow soils enriched with underground fauna, which lends its name to the wine. It displays a dark purple hue. The nose unveils alluring notes of lavender, huacatay and violets, complemented by hints of curry, black tea and orange peel. With a dry profile and supple tannins, the chalky texture and juicy flow lead to a compellingly structured and taut mouthfeel. This lingering red wine offers a prolonged herbal-like finish, showcasing a rare combination of flavorful richness and nuanced subtlety.

Jancis Robinson
18.5+/20 punten
From Gualtallary Monasterio. Malbec from a 1.4-ha parcel with limestone and marine deposits and particularly rich in rhizobacteria, hence the name of the wine ‘elegant microbes of the earth’. 75% of the wine starts fermentation in concrete (50% whole cluster) and 25% is fermented in oak foudres (just juice) with fermentation temperature peaking at 25–30 °C. 8–13 days’ maceration. Aged for 15–18 months in French oak barrels.
Whatever the rhizobacteria’s impact on the wine is, it is clear that this is a wine born for long ageing and is still a baby on opening today. There’s compact bright red fruit with hints of graphite, cigar box and violet, offering a complex – albeit tightly wound – nose. In the palate it has a chalky tension and energetic acidity with hints of crunchy red fruit and seductive spices. A wine for the long haul.