El Enemigo Semillon Mendoza 2023
96 Points, James Suckling – 94 Points, Parker’s Wine Advocate – 93 Points, Vinous
El Enemigo continues to prove that Alejandro Vigil and Adrianna Catena’s rebellious approach has paid off in spades. This collaborative venture between the Catena Zapata chief winemaker and Nicolas Catena’s daughter has become a global phenomenon by defying conventional wisdom about what can grow in Argentina’s high-altitude Uco Valley. Now they’re doing the same with Sémillon.
Parker’s Wine Advocate couldn’t contain their enthusiasm, praising it as “a beautiful example of Uco Valley’s proclivity to produce compelling Sémillon” and calling it their “favorite El Enemigo wine” of the year. This beauty spent 15 months in French oak with 35% under flor, creating savory, nutty, and freshly baked bread notes which Vinous called “a modern and nuanced Sémillon for Argentina.”
Original price was: $30.00.$25.00Current price is: $25.00.
Availability: In stock
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96 Points, James Suckling
Lovely aromas of pears, salted lemons and quince. The palate is saline and exceptional, with concentrated peach flavors and striking saltiness. Sourced from a historic vineyard in El Peral, this spent one year under flor. Bright, concentrated and incisive. Drink now or hold.
94 Points, Parker’s Wine Advocate
My favorite wine of the El Enemigo range is the 2023 Semillon, which hails from Agrelo and was vinified in barrique with a substantial portion under flor. An exotic, floral bouquet of stone fruit, mandarin, citrus oil and dried white flowers is followed by a round, oily yet invigorating and tensile palate. The finish continues this tension with a chiseled, lifted quality that doesn’t sacrifice textural breadth. This is a beautiful example of Uco Valley’s proclivity to produce compelling Sémillon.
93 Points, Vinous
The 2023 Sémillon hails from Agrelo, Luján de Cuyo, and is aged 15 months in French oak with 35% under a flor veil. Yellow-green in hue, it opens with subtle honey and chamomile plus a touch of oak aging. This compact and medium-bodied white finishes pleasant and long with a return of gentle oak. This is a modern and nuanced Sémillon for Argentina, and compared to other years, the 2023 is slightly leaner.
El Enemigo, or “the enemy” in Spanish, has been one of the most captivating projects since it came to be a little over a decade ago. It’s a special collaboration between two Argentinian winemaking legends: Alejandro Vigil, the renowned chief winemaker at Catena Zapata, and Adrianna Catena. Adrianna is of course the daughter of Nicolas, a national winemaking hero, but her work as a viticulture expert especially in high-altitude vineyards has earned her plenty of solo notoriety.
The El Enemigo project leans into the rebellious nature of bucking traditional winemaking rules. The winery is in the Gualtallary in the Uco Valley where the elevation ranges from 3000-4000 feet above sea level. Here, the average annual temperature is only in the mid-50s, and there’s scarcely any rain – many have argued the conditions aren’t ideal for grape growing. Ale Vigil and Adrianna Catena proved them all wrong.
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