El Enemigo Cabernet Franc 2021

This wine can be cellared for up to 9 years. There’s no need to decant it before serving.

El Enemigo is an exciting Argentinian project founded by Alejandro Vigil, the chief winemaker at Catena Zapata, and Adrianna Catena, a historian and the youngest daughter of Nicolas Catena. Their wines embody their shared passion for history, philosophy, and literature, offering unconventional and romantic expressions of some of the world’s most renowned grape varieties with a unique Argentinian flair.

Their cool-climate Cabernet Franc, cultivated at high altitude in Mendoza’s breathtaking vineyards at the foot of the Andes, is particularly exceptional. The older sibling to this wine, Alejandro’s El Gran Enemigo Cabernet Franc, received the highest score ever awarded to a pure Cabernet Franc by Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate.

The grapes for this bottling are sourced from vineyards in Gualtallary, situated between 1400 and 1470 meters above sea level. These unique conditions contribute to a remarkably intense and powerful wine with perfect poise and balance, thanks to the cool summer nights and extended ripening season. The young wine is aged for 16 months in 100-year-old Alsatian foudres, which are large oak casks imported from Italy. The result is a stunningly beautiful red with luscious dark berry flavors, smooth tannins, and a lingering, spicy finish.