2016 Catena Zapata Adrianna Mundus Bacillus Terrae Malbec, Mendoza

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.

96 points jamessuckling.com

Saturated bright ruby. Aromas of brambly crushed blackberry and boysenberry, wild herbs and tropical bitter chocolate verge on exotic, but that's because this is one of Argentina's finest sites--and not just for Malbec. Thick and utterly seamless but with a weightless quality and razor-sharp definition that come from the limestone and calcaire-covered rock underneath a thin layer of marine deposits, not to mention the use of 50% whole clusters. Incredibly silky, concentrated wine with powerful saline minerality, a firm spine of mounting noble tannins and subtle chocolatey sweetness. Winemaker Alejandro Vigil describes this wine as "our purest Malbec expression for long aging." Adrianna was the first vineyard in Gualtallary, planted in 1992 and 1994 at a time when there was virtually no viticultural infrastructure here.

 96+ points Stephen Tanzer vinous.com

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.

Catena is one of the quality leaders in Argentina and it's also a large winery, so they combine quality and quantity. Furthermore, they are one of the pioneers: They were the first to plant vineyards in Gualtallary, which is nowadays considered one of the highest potential zones in the country, but they were deemed crazy when they planted there. The wines are phenomenal, true to their place and vintage, and the accompanying notes merit reading to see what each of their wines is. Comparing 2016 and 2017, it seems like 2017 was better in Altamira and 2016 was a great success in Gualtallary, but there's a lot more information on each wine. They also have a new range of non-sulfur wines called La Marchigiana.

97 points Luis Gutiérrez robertparker.com

Catena Zapata Adrianna Mundus Bacillus Terrae Malbec is one of the most thrilling expressions of high altitude Mendoza and a wine that shows just how deep and intellectual Malbec can be when terroir is allowed to lead. It comes from the Adrianna Vineyard in Gualtallary, sitting at nearly 1500 metres in the foothills of the Andes, where fierce sunlight, icy nights and calcareous soils create fruit of incredible perfume, tension and natural acidity. The Bacillus Terrae parcel is a tiny, living patch of vineyard defined by its wild native yeasts and complex microbial life in the soil, something that Catena Zapata has studied for years and then bottled as its own distinct voice. It is part of a remarkable vineyard project led by Alejandro Vigil and the Catena family, exploring how small differences in soil and biology can shape profoundly different wines even within the same vineyard.

In the glass the 2016 vintage shows a deep violet core with electric purple flashes, opening with violets, blackberry, wild blueberry, graphite, crushed stone and subtle spice. The palate is intense yet exquisitely detailed, layering dark berries, fine tannin, mineral grip and lifted floral notes in a way that feels more like a great Grand Cru than a typical New World Malbec. There is a wonderful tension between power and freshness, with the limestone soils giving the wine a chalky, almost saline edge that carries through to a long, savoury finish. It is magnificent with grilled steak, lamb, wild game and earthy dishes, and it has the structure and balance to age for twenty years or more, slowly gaining truffle, tobacco and savoury complexity while retaining its vibrant Andean core.