Back in the nascent times of this site, Pizzella was one of the first reviews we took a crack at. It was delivered by a contributor no longer with the site, and was ripe with basketball and Steely Dan comparisons. We're going to dial that back with this year's consideration. So here we are with another installment of "La Posta Adventures with (La) Post(a) Malbec".
Nose: A very Mendoza mix of blackberry, dark chocolate and a touch of spice. As it sits a slightly peppery character emerges, but it is subtle. With time, some oak emerges and the berry becomes more pronounced.
Palate: As advertised by the nose, but with the dark berry element emphasized over everything else. Incredibly approachable with a lovely texture. The chocolate and spice expand but there's a floral characteristic appearing for the first time that keeps everything together very nicely.
Finish: Long. Gets much more peppery as time goes on, and it keeps going until the absolute ending.
In an earlier review, we wished that Catena would expand this other program to growers in different regions of Argentina. That hope still stands, because I'm sure there's still plenty out there to explore, enjoy and discover. But when it comes to diversity, value, and quality, right now it is hard to knock this out in the center of the Venn diagram. I worry that as this line becomes more and more popular and interest in Malbec continues to grow, the price will only hike up on this and get priced out of reach. But until then, I'm going to be picking this up in quantities to age.
$16