Bodega Catena Zapata, in Mendoza, Argentina, traces its establishment to 1902, when Italian immigrant Nicola Catena planted his first Malbec vineyard in Mendoza. The family grew grapes for more than 50 years, although the tumultuous Argentine political and economic scene of the 1960s and 1970s made it difficult for the winery to stay afloat. In the late 1980s Nicolas Catena, a professor of economics and heir to the winery, refocused the winery on making higher quality wines rather than the bulk wines it had made for most of the century. By the early 1990s the winery’s Bordeaux-style Cabernet Sauvignon blends, Chardonnays and Malbecs were earning high praise from such critics as Robert M. Parker Jr. who awarded the 1996 Catena Alta Malbec 94 pts. More recent vintages have earned 98+ pts from Parker. In 2009 Decanter magazine named Nicolas Catena “man of the year” for his success in producing world class wines in Argentina.