Deep Cover: Vintage Mendoza Franc, unlike any other!

“At this quality level the price seems too good to be true…” says Wine Advocate, if only they saw OUR price…

Let’s make it easy on you. TRY not to buy this. You can’t resist.

Exclusively yours, while it lasts. Double the 97 points plus a 96+ for good measure, was $125 upon release, and now $75?! Say no more!

Or say more? Well, we’re trying to digest the overindulgent days and nights here so allow us to at least exercise our fingers and type up all we know about this showstopper.

You must know who the Catenas are. Well, El Enemigo is them joining forces with one of the most gifted winemakers the Southern hemisphere has ever seen.

The project spun out of control when Wine Advocate awarded THIS WINE with 100 points: “The joint venture between Catena’s winemaker Alejandro Vigil and Dr. Catena’s younger daughter, Adrianna, has produced a perfect wine in 2013. They are without a doubt one of the leading names in the whole of Argentina” they wrote, making history. It has since been impossible to get, let alone see enough in the same place to make a day out of… until today!

How can it be best described? Let’s not reinvent the wheel and stick with a cliché. It’s the definition of an iron fist in a velvet glove. The kind of wine that you sniff and sip again and again in utter disbelief.

Let’s revert to the Wine Advocate one last time to emphasize how MONSTROUS an opportunity this is; “Alejandro Vigil continues producing amazing wines under the brand El Enemigo, including some of the best Cabernet Franc produced in Argentina. These wines seem to have created some kind of hype around the variety, but Vigil’s wines are not about the variety at all, they are about the very special places where the grapes are grown… at this quality level the price seems too good to be true.”

Now will it last a few hours at least? We hope so!

97 Points – Antonio Galloni’s Vinous

“The 2017 Cabernet Franc Gran Enemigo Single Vineyard El Cepillo is Cabernet Franc blended with 15% of Malbec from the aforementioned GI to the south of the Uco Valley. The wine was 30% fermented in whole bunches before aging for 15 months in barrels and foudres. Rich, bright purple in color. The nose offers ripe blackcurrant and blackberry with hints of jarilla and ash. On the palate, the wine is defined by freshness without compromising on intensity or tannins, which bring substance, volume and grip. Toward the end, the fruit is precise and texture insistent, as though cinched at the waist. A long-lasting, terroir driven wine. Drink 2021-2037.”

97 Points – Descorchados

“The El Cepillo zone in the southern part of the Uco Valley has the reputation of being very cool and tough. The truth is that more than cold (due to its height and topography), it has a tendency to frost, which severely restricts production. The area therefore has a reputation for powerful wines with severe tannins but also for reds that are generous in acidity. On top of all that, this 80% cabernet franc and 20% malbec fermented with 30% whole clusters has earthy and floral notes on a charming nose, while the palate is firm, tense, and full of acidity and sharp tannins. An excellent example from a zone that’s not on the radar of most, but that offers wines with a lot of character. This is one to open in 10 years.”

96+ Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

“The joint venture between Alejandro Vigil and Adrianna Catena, formerly known as Aleanna, has finally been renamed to their most prominent brand, El Enemigo. Despite 2017 being a very warm and dry year, the single-vineyard wines show very clear characters of place, each showing the place quite transparently, which is not always easy in a warm year. Remarkable! The nose of the 2017 Gran Enemigo El Cepillo Single Vineyard was truly explosive: tons of curry, aromatic herbs and something vermouth-like, exuberant and very forward, expressive and open. It’s Cabernet Franc with 15% Malbec fermented in barrel with indigenous yeasts and with 100% full clusters this year. This is also very distinct, and the exotic and aromatic notes are a constant across vintages. The palate is medium to full-bodied, and this year, the Gran Enemigo wines are around 14% alcohol and keep very good freshness (a pH of 3.05) and remarkable acidity. It’s vibrant and finishes dry and with a salty twist, more vertical than I expected for the vintage. Drink 2021-2028.”