Catena Zapata joins La Place

La Place de Bordeaux is the name given to the system of selling Bordeaux’s wines through a network of merchant and brokers. It not only has a prestige that few other sales mechanisms can match, it’s also global in outlook, with Bordeaux’s traders able to sell wines to far-flung markets with relative ease. Other New World wines represented by La Place include Opus One from California and Almaviva from Chile.

“La Place is very selective about the wines they choose to represent,” says Dr Catena, adding that Bodega Catena Zapata went through a formal process of presenting their flagship wines, including conducting a tasting of old vintages. “After tasting our wines, representatives from ten negociant houses felt that our wines would be well received by their customers in Europe and Asia.”

The Catena’s family winemaking dates back to 1902, when Italian migrant Nicola Catena planted his first Malbec vineyard in Mendoza.

His descendant Nicolás Catena Zapata revolutionized Argentine wine in the 1980s by focusing on quality, as well as by planting vineyards at an elevation of 1,500 m and by spearheading the revival of Malbec. For his efforts, he was named Decanter’s Man of the Year and awarded a Wine Spectator Distinguished Service Award. Fourth generation Dr Laura Catena has been a champion of altitude winemaking, founding the Catena institute of Wine.

Joining La Place marks another milestone. “Through our almost twenty-year partnership with the Rothschild (Lafite) family in Argentina, my father and I have developed a deep respect for the Bordelais vignerons,” says Dr Catena. “We are proud and honoured to offer two of our flagship Catena Zapata wines through La Place de Bordeaux.”