In Mendoza, 2022 is coming to an finish with main information for the native wine scene: Catena Zapata has lastly opened Angélica Cocina Maestra, its first restaurant in Agrelo (Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza). The restaurant is on the identical property as Catena Zapata’s iconic Mayan pyramid-shaped vineyard and one among its most treasured Malbec vineyards.
Angélica Cocina Maestra, a wine-focused restaurant
‘At Angélica a very powerful objects on the menu are the wines, and our dishes are designed to be paired with them. So for us, the “cooks” are my father, Nicolás Catena, Alejandro Vigil, our head winemaker, and myself,’ stated Laura Catena, a member of the fourth technology of the winemaking household and at the moment the director of the vineyard.
A go to to Angélica is an expertise wherein diners are invited to take pleasure in a really particular second within the Catena Zapata universe.
To carry the brand new mission to life, a specifically designated house needed to be constructed, with the work taking three years. The constructing recreates a standard Italian borgo village to pay homage to the Catena household’s roots. The identify honours the mom of Nicolás Catena, a famend winemaker who was named Decanter’s Man of the 12 months in 2009 for his revolutionary contributions to viticulture in Argentina.
The go to begins at a gallery main into the underground distillery the place friends can take pleasure in a glass of Vincenzo, the vineyard’s vermouth rosso with an apero pairing.
The tour continues with a go to to the village’s tower, which gives a 360-degree view of the vineyards and pyramid. Diners then arrive on the essential eating corridor, which has a capability of simply 38 in a merely designed surroundings with ample views of the vineyards.
The tables are spacious with snug armchairs and are laid with Riedel glassware and tableware from main manufacturers and native artisans.
Angélica’s menu
As Laura Catena says, somewhat than specializing in meals, diners select from amongst a set of wine flights ready by the household, the winemaker and the sommeliers. There are 5 wine flights designed to embody the whole lot of the Catena Zapata universe: Angélica, Domingo Vicente, Famiglia Unita, Sugerido and Paseo por Catena. They’re complemented by the unique ‘Stairway to Heaven’ expertise, a vertical tasting of seven wines from vintages between 2006 and 2013 of Estiba Reservada, the vineyard’s high wine.
There’s additionally a full, fastidiously thought-out record of Catena Zapata wines by the bottle or glass for many who choose this feature to the flights.
The meals, in the meantime, is ready underneath familial supervision by the kitchen crew at Casa Vigil – Alejandro Vigil’s private restaurant – which is led by Maxi Mastrangelo and Mendoza chef Iván Azar.
The ten-course tasting menu – which has vegan and gluten free choices – is designed to have fun Catena Zapata’s wines and options native, seasonal merchandise, a few of which come from the natural vegetable backyard just some ft away.
Though for the second the restaurant is simply open for lunch with its 10-course tasting menu, over the following few months it will likely be providing picnics within the winery, tapas within the village sq. and wonderful eating.
There is no such thing as a doubt that Angélica will instantly develop into a necessary restaurant to go to in Mendoza, the place the thriving gastronomic scene welcomes guests to Argentine wine nation from all internationally.
