Winemaker Notes
Pair this wine with rodizio, Lyonnaise sauces, grilled steaks, and barbecued ribs.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Love the blackberry, flower and orange-peel character. Medium body, creamy tannins and a flavorful finish. This is real malbec. Total whole-berry fermentation gives this freshness and brightness. Tension to the very friendly fruit at the end.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 El Enemigo Malbec has 10% Cabernet Franc and fermented with 50% full clusters and indigenous yeasts, then matured in oak foudres for 15 months. The oak is perfectly integrated into the fruit, and the wine comes through as floral and fruit-driven, elegant, with moderate ripeness, focused and clean flavors and very round tannins. It's long and tasty. Rating: 92+
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Wine & Spirits
Adrianna Catena joined forces with Alejandro Vigil, the head winemaker at Catena Zapata, to create this label in 2009. Their goal was to meld modern winemaking techniques with older traditions, like fermenting with ambient yeasts in cement tanks, as they did for a portion of this wine. The brightness and verve of the blend lasts past the smoke of the oak and brings a sense of freshness to the blackberry flavors. It’s modern but balanced, especially if there’s a double-cut pork chop on hand.
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Wine Spectator
Fruity, toasty; raspberry, baked cherry, red currant, hot stone, underbrush.
The wines of El Enemigo are a tribute to those internal battles that make us who we are. Winemaker Alejandro Vigil and historian Adrianna Catena reach back in time to capture the era when European immigrants first settled in Argentina. These settlers sought to make wines as good as or finer than those of their old homelands. By 1936, Malbec and Petit Verdot were Argentina’s most widely planted varietals, and their blend was considered the ultimate in refinement and aging potential.
Enemigo thrives in the thrill of experimentation and delights in the new and unconventional. It was born from a desire to carve a unique path and a shared obsession with terroir—each bottle an unfettered song to the wild, free-spirited soul. The wines reflect the freshness and character of each individual vineyard: a pure expression of terroir.
Celebrated for its bold flavors and supple texture, Malbec has enjoyed runaway success in Argentina since the late 20th century. The grape originated in Bordeaux, France, where it historically contributed color and tannin to blends. A French agronomist, who saw great potential for the variety in Mendoza’s hot, high-altitude landscape, brought Malbec to Argentina in 1868. Somm Secret—If you’re trying to please a crowd, Malbec is generally a safe bet with its combination of dense fruit and soft tannins.
By far the largest and best-known winemaking province in Argentina, Mendoza is responsible for over 70% of the country’s enological output. Set in the eastern foothills of the Andes Mountains, the climate is dry and continental, presenting relatively few challenges for viticulturists during the growing season. Mendoza, divided into several distinctive sub-regions, including Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, is the source of some of the country’s finest wines.
For many wine lovers, Mendoza is practically synonymous with Malbec. Originally a Bordelaise variety brought to Argentina by the French in the mid-1800s, here it found success and renown that it never knew in its homeland where a finicky climate gives mixed results. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Pinot Noir are all widely planted here as well (and sometimes even blended with each other or Malbec). Mendoza's main white varieties include Chardonnay, Torrontés, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.