Cabernet Franc, Gran Enemigo Single Vineyard El Cepillo, El Enemigo 2021
Parker 98; Tim Atkin MW 95 (2025); James Suckling 99 (2025); Descorchados 98 (2025); Vinous 96 (2025); Wine Enthusiast 96
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Why this wine
Fifteen months in concrete and not a day in new oak leaves the El Cepillo site fully exposed: violet, cassis and graphite instead of vanilla. It is one of four Gran Enemigo single vineyards made to the same blend and the same ageing, so what separates them is purely soil and altitude. This is among the most serious Cabernet Franc Argentina makes.
At a glance
- Grape
- Cabernet Franc, Malbec
- Region
- Mendoza, Argentina
- Alcohol
- 13.50%
- Body
- Full
- Acidity
- High
- Tannins
- Medium
- Sweetness
- Dry
- Drink
- Medium (5-10 yrs)
- Pairs with
- Red Meat, Poultry & Pork, Cheese
How it tastes
Violet, cassis, plum and dark cherry, with mint chocolate, black pepper and a graphite edge behind the fruit. Full-bodied but precise: crunchy red fruit, silky tannins and racy acidity, closing on a mineral note. Cabernet Franc, Malbec.
The producer
El Enemigo was founded in 2010 by Adrianna Catena, daughter of Nicolas Catena Zapata, with Alejandro Vigil, head winemaker at Bodega Catena Zapata; the estate placed 17th in the Top 100 of the World's Best Vineyards Awards 2025. The fruit comes from Pampa El Cepillo in San Carlos, one of the southernmost vineyards of the Uco Valley, at 1,300 metres on colluvial soils with marine limestone beneath; the site is farmed to organic practices without certification, using natural herb and pest control, high trellises, drip irrigation and a manual harvest. It is one of four Single Vineyard Cabernet Franc wines Alejandro Vigil makes to an identical blend of 85% Cabernet Franc and 15% Malbec and identical ageing, so that soil and altitude do all the distinguishing. The grapes were picked over five passes spanning a month and a half, cold-macerated for five days, fermented in concrete vats at around 26°C with 30% whole bunches and roughly 40 days of total maceration, then aged 15 months in concrete. The cool, wetter 2021 season brought 15 to 20 per cent fewer degree-days than 2020, giving moderate sugars, ripe skins and optimal acidity.
Food and drinking
Serve at 16-18°C. It suits grilled ribeye, slow-roast lamb, duck breast or a mature hard cheese. Drinking well now and built to keep ten to twenty years; an hour in a decanter helps while it is young. Sealed with a DIAM closure. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.