Nicolas Catena Argentina Wine Tasting at Café Maxx

No thing more excellent nor more valuable than wine was ever granted mankind by God. –

Plato

Truer words have never been spoken!  It seems we have a thing for South America this month as next week we have back to back tastings with the wines of Argentina. 

Then, coming up a few weeks from now we have a double header with the wines of Chile back to back with the Edge on Tuesday August 21st and then at Café Maxx on Wednesday August 22nd.

And then we have one of the superstars of Alsace Domaine Weinbach here at the store.  To end the month a super Syrah tasting and vintage Australian tasting along with whatever else we can squeeze on the calendar for this month. 

I have been touting the wines from Argentina for some time now, you may have heard me say- “you just can't get a better value when considering Bordeaux varietals than what is coming from Chile and Argentina today”. Tonight we will be featuring the wines of Nicolas Catena, one of the most important wineries in Argentina. Chef Oliver Saucy will be sending out a few small courses to accompany the tasting wines. The fee for this tasting event is $35 + tax, for reservations call 954-782-0606.

Nicolas Catena Argentina Wine Tasting at Café Maxx
Wednesday August 8, 2012
6:30pm

Tasting Line-up:

Catena Chardonnay Mendoza 2010
Price: $20.25       Sale $17.82          Case $207

(90 Points)  The 2010 Chardonnay was barrel-fermented, put through full malolactic fermentation, and aged for 9 months in 30% new French oak. The enticing nose offers up hints of toast, pear, and tropical fruits, leading to a well-balanced wine with the fruit buttressed by vibrant acidity. Drink this tasty effort over the next 3-4 years. It is an outstanding value.

There is no let up in quality at Catena Zapata, where Nicolas Catena remains in charge, assisted by his daughter, Dr. Laura Catena. The new releases include two white wines.  Wine Advocate #198, Dec 2011

Catena Alta Chardonnay Mendoza 2009
Price: $40.50       Sale $35.64          Case $413

(92 Points) The 2009 Catena Alta Chardonnay was aged for 12-16 months in 50% new French barriques. Most of the fruit came from the estate’s Adrianna Vineyard, which contains their most rocky soils. It offers a bit more sophistication in its alluring bouquet of sandalwood, baking spices, hazel nuts, and assorted white fruits. Round and savory in the glass, it has the structure to evolve for 1-2 years and drink well through 2018.  There is no let up in quality at Catena Zapata, where Nicolas Catena remains in charge, assisted by his daughter, Dr. Laura Catena. The new releases include two white wines. Wine Advocate #198, Dec 2011

Catena Cabernet Sauvignon Agrelo
Price: $19.25       Sale $16.94          Case $196

Bodegas Catena Zapata Cabernet Sauvignon Mendoza 2009
Price: $23.75       Sale $20.90          Case $242

(90 Points) The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon (100%) was aged in French and American oak, some of each portion new, for 16 months. Cedar, Asian spices, incense, black cherry, and black currant notes lead to a surprisingly elegant Cabernet for its humble price. Spicy, smooth-textured, and easygoing, with a bit of underlying structure, it will provide enjoyment over the next 6-7 years. Wine Advocate #198, Dec 2011

Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon Mendoza 2008
Price: $69.75       Sale $61.38          Case $711

(91 Points)  The 2008 Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon was aged in 80% new French oak for 18 months and 24 months in bottle prior to release. Wood smoke, pencil lead, exotic spices, violets, and black currants set the stage for a savory, ripe, layered, and impeccably balanced wine with several years of aging potential. Drink this lengthy effort from 2013 to 2023.   Wine Advocate #198, Dec 2011

Catena Malbec Vista Flores Mendoza 
Price: $19.25       Sale $16.94          Case $196

Bodegas Catena Zapata Malbec 2009
Price: $23.75       Sale $20.90          Case $242

(91 Points)  The 2009 Catena Malbec was aged in 35% new French and American barriques for 14 months. Balsam wood, earthy minerals, spice box, lavender, and black cherry aromas compose the wine’s inviting bouquet. Spicy and savory in the glass, with ample black cherry and black raspberry flavors, this nicely proportioned Malbec is an outstanding value meant for drinking over the next 4-5 years.

There is no let up in quality at Catena Zapata, where Nicolas Catena remains in charge, assisted by his daughter, Dr. Laura Catena. The new releases include two white wines.  Wine Advocate #198, Dec 2011

Catena Alta Malbec Mendoza 2008
Price: $63             Sale $55.44          Case $643

(92 Points)  The 2008 Catena Alta Malbec spent 18 months in 70% new French oak and 24 months in bottle prior to release. The nose offers up more obvious barrel notes intermingled with exotic spices, lavender, cinnamon, incense, and black cherry. It opens in the glass to reveal outstanding depth and volume, impeccable balance, layers of spicy fruit, and exceptional length. It is likely to evolve for 2-3 years and offers a drinking window extending from 2013 to 2023.  There is no let up in quality at Catena Zapata, where Nicolas Catena remains in charge, assisted by his daughter, Dr. Laura Catena. The new releases include two white wines.  Wine Advocate #198, Dec 2011

A bit about Bodegas Nicolas Catena:

When you arrive in Argentina you feel like you have arrived in the land of the giants- everything is big, very big.  Every time you get into the car to go somewhere, everything is far away, hailstones are the size of softballs, go out to dinner and order a steak, this is where the creators of the Flinstones came up with their props.  The wine business in Argentina is equally as large.  It is the sixth largest wine producing nation on the face of the earth.  They also do quite a bit of drinking, as the annual per capita consumption of wine is an impressive 90 liters per person.  For a long time this enthusiastic consumers of wine had only a small portion of their annual production was exported.  The uncertain economy and inflation of 5000 per cent a year kept Argentine wines at home.  After a restructuring of the economy in the late 1980’s Argentine wine producers were finally able to set wine prices for export and invest in their future export markets.  Since then we have seen a bevy of very good and very affordable wines from Argentina in the United States.

The Andes form the most significant influence on the Argentine vineyards.  This barrier removes all moisture from the Pacific winds, thus creating bone-dry conditions and 320 days of sunshine every year, and also providing plentiful water for irrigation.  You know every silver lining has a cloud attached to it and this perfect scenario is ruined by the fact that the high altitude thunderstorms that form over the Andes drop golf-ball size hail over the vineyards on a regular basis just before harvest.  Mendoza is Argentina’s most important wine region, producing 90 percent of that countries exportable fine wine.  It enjoys summer temperatures of up to 104 degrees, plenty of runoff from the mountains for irrigation, and grapes with ideal sugar levels to make fine wine. 

One of the oldest and most established vineyards in Argentina is Catena.  For over 100 years the Catena family has been making wine in the premier grape growing region of Mendoza, Argentina. Thier wines are exported to major markets around the world and have received universal acclaim from some of the most prominent wine critics.  The Catena family roots, like those of the Mondavi and Gallo families, lie deep in the fertile Italian wine growing province of Marche, Italy. There, Nicola Catena was born. The son of vineyard workers, Nicola set out for the New World at the end of the last century, taking with him a love for the vines and a keen desire to grow grapes and make wine on land of his own.

Like other Italian immigrants to Argentina, Nicola settled in Mendoza, which at the time was just developing a reputation as a prime grape growing region. In 1902, he planted his first vineyard in the desert soil of Mendoza and began producing wine for the domestic market. His eldest son, Domingo, soon took responsibility for the family business. Thrifty, industrious and savvy marketeers, the Catenas steadily increased their vineyards and winemaking capacity to become one of Argentina's largest and most prosperous wine producing families.

In 1963, soon after graduating from the university with a degree in economics, Nicolás, named for his grandfather and eldest son of Domingo and Angelica Zapata, took over the family business. The young Nicolás further diversified and expanded the firm. By 1976, the Catenas were selling more than 20 million bottles of wine per month in the domestic market, making them not only Argentina's, but one of the world's largest producers of bottled wines.  "By the 1970s, we had tremendous vineyard and winemaking resources at our command," notes Nicolás.  Nicolás' younger brother Jorge, the newest family member to join the business, enrolled at the University of California at Davis. There he came in contact with other young, forward thinking winemakers and, under Nicolás' direction, began making plans to modernize the family's vineyard and winemaking technology.

As with most pioneers, Nicolás remembers one inspirational moment that launched his quest to bring perfection to the family's winemaking operations. Invited in 1982 to be a visiting professor at the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of California at Berkeley, he embarked on frequent weekend outings with his wife, Elena, to the nearby Napa Valley wine growing region. There, he came to realize the full extent of California's leading winemakers' determination to produce wines that would rival the best of those from France.  "One day we stopped to visit the Robert Mondavi Winery," recalls Nicolás. "I had not yet met Robert Mondavi, and we just took the normal tour. Until that moment, I had not really understood what the Californians were doing. But when I saw the Mondavi operation, their investment in research and could appreciate what they were achieving in terms of quality, I felt truly inspired. I thought, 'My God, why not try this in Mendoza.' I knew it would take time, but I also knew it could be done. I always think of that visit as the magic moment that changed my whole concept of quality winemaking."

By the late 1980s, the push to make world class wines at Bodegas Esmeralda, the winery dedicated to producing the highest quality wines among the wineries of the Catena Zapata family, had begun in earnest. As the results of new techniques and new plantings in the vineyards began to bear fruit, Nicolás and his management team turned to upgrading its winemaking technology. Today, Bodegas Esmeralda is equipped with state of the art machinery and hundreds of French and American oak barrels. But Nicolás' philosophy is, and always has been, that a great wine originates in the vineyard, and that the goal of the winemaker is to assure that every grape cluster is allowed to achieve its fullest potential.  In 1991, he released his first vintage of both Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon into the US. market. The wines were unusual for both their quality and their retail price, which was well above that of other Latin American wines.

In 1998, Nicolás Catena's daughter Laura joined the family business as head of exports. A Harvard and Stanford graduate, Laura Catena is determined to put Argentine wines on the world map of top producers.
"Mendoza's terroir is extraordinary, " says Laura, "optimal soils, low humidity, scarce rains, and the ability to find different microclimates ideal for each varietal as one goes up and down the Andean foothills, make Mendoza a fabulous and one of a kind place for quality viticulture."

Other Wines from Nicolas Catena available:

2007 Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino Mendoza
Price: $126.00
Quantity in Stock: 4

(97 Points) The 2007 Argentino Malbec is a blend of the Nicasia and Adrianna cuvees. Since I have been tasting the Catena wines, this has generally been my preference because it seems to have an extra dimension of complexity. So it is with the 2007 vintage. The Argentino offers a similar aromatic and flavor profile, but with just a bit of extra nuance. It will be most enjoyable to taste these 3 wines side-by-side in another 10 years (or, to be truthful, at any time).

Catena Zapata’s newest releases continue the high standards established by this Bodega virtually from its onset, a tribute to Nicolas Catena who continues to oversee his empire. Wine Advocate #192, Dec 2010

2008 Catena Malbec Mendoza
Price: $19.50       Sale $17.16          Case $199
Quantity in Stock: 9

(91 Points) The 2008 Malbec (priced just over the limit to qualify for the Value report), dark ruby red in color, it delivers an alluring bouquet of Asian spices, incense, lavender, and black cherry. Smooth textured, spicy, and easy-to understand, this pleasure-bent Malbec is an outstanding value for drinking over the next 4-6 years.

Catena Zapata’s newest releases continue the high standards established by this Bodega virtually from its onset, a tribute to Nicolas Catena who continues to oversee his empire. Wine Advocate #192, Dec 2010

CAFÉ MAXX Neighborhood nights

Do to popular demand we are continuing our Neighborhood Nights. This is our answer to Florida’s “Staycation”
For those of you who are going to be here for the summer months, relax and enjoy a small slice of luxury right around the corner! Join Darrel & Oliver for dinner, and relax while the summer heats up.

This promotion will be offered four nights a week, every Sunday through Wednesday, through September 30. Enjoy this summer long promotion featuring an amazing three course summer menu for $35 dollars.

Chef Oliver has been working with his purveyors to provide us with the freshest ingredients at their peak of flavor and value. Oliver and staff will be highlighting seasonal favorites from our ever changing menu. As promised the NEIGHBORHOOD NIGHTS menu will be updated monthly.

Café Maxx $35 Summer Menu
“Neighborhood Nights” Menu
Corkage is not allowed with this menu

First Course

Soup of the day
Sashimi or Tartare of the day, only the freshest
Caesar Salad prosciutto, parmigiano reggiano and garlic croutons
Buffalo Fried Calamari baby greens, shaved celery, carrots & Maytag blue cheese dip
Seasonal Mixed Greens shaved cucumber, carrots, toasted pecans & honey whole grain mustard vinaigrette
Heirloom Tomato Mozzarella Caprese grilled portabella, red onion, petite arugula, balsamic reduction, virgin olive oil
Crumbled Goat Cheese Salad spinach, bing cherries, French beans, candied hazelnuts, creamy lemon dressing
Warm Jumbo Lump Crab Taco roasted corn & tomato salsa, seasoned sour cream, jack cheese and bacon
Coconut Fried Shrimp papaya, mixed greens, toasted coconut-mango jerk remoulade
Tuna Carpaccio scallions, ginger, sweet soy sauce, spicy mayo & tobiko caviar

Main Course

Duck & Smoked Mozzarella Ravioli brown butter, basil, sundried tomato and parmesan reggiano
Sweet Onion Crusted Snapper parisienne vegetables, gaufrette potatoes and Madeira beurre blanc
Grilled Chicken Mac & Cheese whole wheat penne, aged gouda, applewood smoked bacon and fresh herbs
Three Peppercorn Filet Mignon three cheese au gratin potatoes, shallot-thyme compound butter and natural jus
Shrimp “FraDiavolo” Scampi shaved garlic, tomato concasse, red pepper, linguine and tomato-chardonnay broth
Sweet Chili Barbequed Yellowfin Tuna Sushi rice truffles, cucumber salsa, sriracha, stir fried bok choy and garlic-ginger kimchee
Peach & Ginger Schnapps Glazed Duck Breast with corn & wild rice pancakes, pistachio green beans and pearl onions
Mango Jerk Wahoo Sweet potato & sweet plantain “Fufu”, mango salsa, haricot vert & vanilla rum beurre blanc
Chick Pea Seared Mahi Mahi Falafel cake, cucumber-tomato salad, feta cheese and tzatziki sauce
Pork Milanese Chopped Mediterranean salad with mozzarella & peppadew basil pomodoro sauce

Dessert

Bread Pudding of the day
Warm Apple Tart with caramel sauce & cinnamon ice cream
Fallen Chocolate Soufflé Cake with vanilla ice cream & chocolate sauce
Tropical Carrot Cake pineapple carpaccio, toasted macadamia nuts & coconut cream cheese frosting
Double Chocolate Mousse Cake Devil’s chocolate cake, semisweet chocolate mousse, vanilla ice cream