As difficult as it is to pick a winner between the Gualtallary and El Cepillo bottlings, the 2021 Gran Enemigo Gualtallary Single Vineyard gets my nod as the supreme example of the Gran Enemigo Single Vineyard Cabernet Francs. It hails from a plot planted on calcareous rocky soils in 1995 with 10,000 vines per hectare, fermented with 40% whole bunches in barrique and underwent a 15-month élevage in 100-year-old foudre. Opening with a brooding, inward and quietly perfumed nose, its aromatic profile ceaselessly expands to encompass all manner of herbal and floral complexity, combining simmering intensity with supreme elegance. The palate follows suit with a rich, silky, refined and gently succulent energy, releasing into a graceful, dense and glacial conclusion that gives equal measure to vertical energy and horizontal richness. The finish slowly but steadily builds upon itself, revealing shimmering acidity and ultra-refined tannins with increased aeration. There is no better example of Cabernet Franc's suitability in the Uco Valley, a match rendered here with incomparable finesse, depth and complexity. Drink: 2024-2041. ~99 Wine Advocate
Is it possible to create a wine with structure but without weight? The 2021 Cabernet Franc Gran Enemigo Gualtallary offers a remarkable answer to that apparent paradox, finding the solution in a balanced combination of terroir and careful cellar work. It's almost utopian—a mountain wine with the structure and character of high-altitude vineyards, yet with the agility and freshness of an oceanic red. Purple in hue, it opens with blackberry and plum, layered with mountain herbs, a hint of sour cherry, cassis and floral tones of violet and lavender. Dry and juicy, with a slightly compact feel, the wine glides across the palate with weightless grace, supported by fine, chalky tannins. This wine is a triumph.\n\n- By Joaquín Hidalgo, November 2024 ~98 Vinous Media
Graphite and blueberries with hints of tar, dark earth and ink on the nose. Medium-bodied with a compact and polished palate that is like a tight ball of fine silk in texture. Very structured yet all in balance. Give it four or five years to come around. But you'll be tempted to try it now. ~98 James Suckling
Another linear offering of the variety, excellent for further aging, the 2021 Cabernet Franc Gran Enemigo Gualtallary Single Vineyard is a showcase of the cooler-climate region, crisp on the palate in lengthy acidity and firm, dusty tannins. The oak accentuates the cauldron of dried herb, baking spice, and garrigue at its heart. Cellar through 2041. Drink: 2025-2041. ~97 Jeb Dunnuck
2021 El Enemigo Gran Enemigo Gualtallary Cabernet Franc
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At A Glance
- Varietal:
- Cabernet Franc
- Region:
- Mendoza
- Alcohol:
- 13.5%
- Size:
- 750ml
TASTING NOTES
What's in the Glass
- PAIRS WITH
- Beef · Steak · Mushroom Dish · Truffle
Mouthfeel & Acidity
CRITIC REVIEWS
What the Critics Said
THE PRODUCER
El Enemigo Winery
El Enemigo (formally Bodega Aleanna) is the passion project of Alejandro Vigil, longtime chief winemaker at Bodega Catena Zapata, and Adrianna Catena, an Oxford-trained historian and youngest daughter of Nicolás Catena Zapata, who founded the winery in 2009 with a goal of challenging and redefining Argentinian winemaking by blending the country's youthful winemaking culture with Europe's rich viticultural heritage, driven by a shared love of Cabernet Franc and an ambition to produce high-altitude wines rivaling the best of Bordeaux. The vineyards sit at elevations between 930 and 1,470 meters on limestone, rock, and clay soils, planted to Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Bonarda, Chardonnay, and Malbec across Mendoza's Uco Valley and Gualtallary. Their techniques blend old and new — fashionable concrete eggs alongside 100-year-old Alsatian oak foudres shipped in from Italy, re-toasted and reassembled in tradition — and the wines have earned serious critical acclaim, with scores of 99 and 100 awarded by James Suckling and Robert Parker for the Gran Enemigo Chacayes and Gualtallary bottlings respectively. The name itself carries symbolic weight: "El Enemigo" nods to the idea that at the end of any journey, the only battle truly remembered is the one fought within — the original enemy — and the wines are meant as a tribute to that inner struggle that shapes who we are
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