El Enemigo Malbec 2019 – BLACK FRIDAY

It’s hard to reach hyperbole when describing the wines of El Enemigo. The project is headed by Alejandro Vigil, chief winemaker for Catena Zapata, and Adrianna Catena, an accomplished historian and the daughter of the famous Nicolás Catena. Their wines tell a story, this one of the primary grape of Mendoza with a reference and expression to the harsh conditions encountered in making wine in the foothills of the Andes. It has all the bright fruit and spice expected of malbec, but there’s a touch of cab franc in there to provide structure and herbaceousness, both nods to the slow and steady ripening that occurs in the deep rocky soils at such high altitudes.