卡帝納沙巴達酒廠 BODEGA CATENA ZAPATA

卡帝納沙巴達酒廠，是全世界緯度最高的葡萄酒園(海拔1000公尺的高原)，分布於阿根廷最好的Mendoza曼多薩產區；其家族經營葡萄酒事業不只一百年，創始者Nicola Catena出生於義大利中部的Marche，父親於葡萄酒園工作，在從小耳濡目染的情況下造就了Nicola C`atena獨特的天份和眼光，於1902年時在阿根廷的Mendoza區創立Catena Zapata，現由他孫子Nicolas Catena帶領的酒廠已經在全世界擁有極佳名聲。

八零年代莊主Nicolas Catena受到加州卡本內致力提升品質的影響，改變以量取勝的策略，以品質至上的做法，經過多年摸索後，以阿根廷特有的Malbec葡萄品種當作重心，並勇於挑戰世界知名酒款，贏得全球酒展與酒評家的讚嘆，從此建立起《CATENA ZAPATA卡帝那‧沙巴達酒莊》成為阿根廷酒王的地位。Robert Parker曾經慎重預言：2015年，阿根廷的Malbec品種將被視為上帝的恩典；這源於法國波爾多品種無法在原產地綻放光芒，卻在阿根廷找到了自己發光的舞台。

CATENA ZAPATA卡帝納沙巴達酒廠的傑出表現，吸引法國五大頂級酒莊中Chateau Lafite注目，牽引出新的合作關係。西元2000年Nicolas Catena 與Eric de Rothschild of Domains Barons de Rothschild相談盛歡，決定共同生產CARO 2000系列葡萄酒，CARO的命名來自是義大利文”摯愛的(BELOVED)”的意思；由於Eric的愛妻是義大利人，她常稱Eric為CARO，因此這個具有濃濃愛意的義大利文就成為新酒款的命名。

《CATENA ZAPATA 卡帝那‧沙巴達酒廠》葡萄酒系列，包括未公開上市的「CATENA VINAS」、以及獲得Robert Parker 94分高分的「Nicolas Catena Zapata（尼古拉斯-卡帝納‧沙巴達紅酒）」、「CATENA ALTA（卡帝那愛達系列）」、「CATENA（卡帝那系列）」、「ALAMOS（艾拉蒙斯系列）」。這五個系列都各具特色以及擁有各自的忠實擁護者，在國際間獲得一致的好評得獎不斷。

最讓人津津樂道的是Catena Zapata酒莊在2001年英國舉辦的第十屆葡萄酒比賽中奪魁。這場盲目試飲的酒款涵蓋法國五大酒莊頂級酒Château Latour, Haut-Brion、加州頂級酒與阿根廷《CATENA ZAPATA卡帝那‧沙巴達酒莊》等，結果全體在場的專業人士評定《CATENA ZAPATA卡帝那‧沙巴達酒莊》為第一名，奠定了卡帝那‧沙巴達酒莊頂級酒莊在世界舞台的地位。世界最具權威葡萄酒專家Robert Parker 也在其出版的「全球最出色酒莊」書中將《CATEZAPATA卡帝那‧沙巴達酒莊》列為唯一入選的阿根廷酒莊。最新一期的「Decanter 品醇客雜誌」更將《Nicolas Catena Zapata》置於封面，並列為新世界偶像酒的今日巨星酒款。

The Family: It is part of our family’s folklore that our forefather Nicola Catena, who sailed from Italy to Argentina in 1898, celebrated leaving the famine in Europe for this plentiful new land by eating a piece of virtually raw steak for breakfast each morning. Best described as a tireless optimist, he firmly believed that he had found the promised land in Mendoza, where he planted his first Malbec vineyard in 1902. Malbec had been a blending grape in Bordeaux. But Nicola suspected it would find its hidden splendour in the Argentine Andes. Domingo, his son, inherited that dream and took the family winery to the next level, becoming one of the largest vineyard holders in Mendoza.

Nicolás Catena would never use the word about himself - a less boastful spirit, it’s hard to imagine - but he has been the quiet revolutionary in the Catena family history book. He has charted the family’s path to the new frontier of winemaking, drawing on lessons learned from the land and in the classroom, then applying his education to dare to challenge the conventional wisdom.

Taking the reigns of the family vineyards and wineries in the mid 1960s, he concentrated on expanding distribution throughout Argentina during years of turmoil in the 1970s. But in the early 1980s, Nicolás left Argentina to become a visiting professor of economics at the University of California, on the world-renowned campus at Berkeley. The political and economic situation in Argentina was difficult, with a military government that had just declared war on the United Kingdom and inflation rates of more than 1000 per cent per year. California, and especially Napa Valley were an inspiration to Nicolás and his wife Elena, who spent weekends visiting the area with their youngest daughter Adrianna in a backpack. Until that time, no one in the new world had dreamed of rivaling France.

Nicolás Catena returned to Mendoza with a vision in mind. From one day to the other, he sold his table wine producing company, keeping only Bodegas Esmeralda, the fine wine branch of the family business. At that time Argentina was perceived as a bulk wine producer and Nicolás was told by many of his colleagues in Argentina that he was “completamente loco” (completely crazy).

But Nicolás Catena is not someone to be easily discouraged. During the 1980s, Nicolás set out to discover the best places to plant vineyards in Mendoza. When recently asked why he decided to plant Chardonnay and Malbec in Gualtallary, at almost 5,000 feet elevation, Nicolás answered, “I felt that the only way we would make a leap in quality would be by pushing the limits of vine cultivation, by taking risks”. His own vineyard manager had told him that Malbec would never ripen there, but it did, and beautifully. Nicolás found that Mendoza was exceptional for vine growing, with each high altitude valley providing the ideal climate for a specific varietal. He found that the poor soils near the Andes, discarded by the original European immigrants due to their low fertility, were actually ideal for quality viticulture. And that the desert climate was an asset because it allowed him to control quality and hang time through strict irrigation control.

The wine, named Nicolás Catena Zapata (Zapata is Nicolás’ mother’s maiden name), was a blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Malbec. It was released in 2001 through a series of blind tastings held in the USA and Europe where it was compared blind to Château Latour, Haut Brion, Solaia, Caymus and Opus One. The Nicolás Catena Zapata 1997 came in either first or second in every tasting.

The Winery: Over the past 20 years, Nicolás and Laura Catena and their vineyard management team have worked tirelessly in the discovery, identification and development of key microclimates in the high altitude wine country of Mendoza, Argentina. Nicolás Catena has planted an almost countless number of varietals and clones throughout his mountain vineyard sites. This quest for quality lead Nicolás and Laura Catena to a crucial discovery regarding the influence of altitude on grape cultivation in Mendoza. Observing the important differences in soil types, average temperatures and thermal amplitudes that exist at varying altitudes, he found that vineyard sites which are just a few kilometers apart can have vast differences in altitude and possess remarkably different microclimates. Over the years, the in depth study of these different microclimates led Nicolás to determine that the same varietal, and even the same clone, presented distinct aromatic and flavor profiles when cultivated in each of these unique microclimates. Implementing the age old art of assemblage, he found that by blending these different lots of the same varietal, he could achieve a more complex wine.