Bright medium red. Slightly liqueur-like aromas of raspberry, strawberry, loamy spices and coffee, lifted by a topnote of rose petal. Lovely supple, pliant Pinot Noir with sweet red fruit and spice flavors nicely buffered by integrated acidity. Combines noteworthy silky depth with serious inner-mouth lift to project a sensation of weightlessness. Finishes juicy, firm, saline and long. Very suave Pinot with mid-term aging potential. My second bottle of this wine was even better, as it began very tight and minerally, then opened slowly with air to show increasing richness and tangy red fruit character. Domaine Nico is a project of Laura Catena, whose family originally planted this Tupungato vineyard on stony soil at about 4,200 feet in 1994 with Dijon clones; she also has Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon on this site but not Malbec). The Domaine Nico wines are made without any new oak by 30-year-old winemaker Roy Urvieto, who previously spent 10 years as assistant to Alejandro Vigil, head winemaker at Catena Zapata. (vinified with 30% whole clusters; from a north-facing part of the Villa Bastías vineyard in Tupungato)

The difference between the 2017 Grand Père Pinot Noir and the Grand Mère comes from the soils; they come from the same vineyard but selected from different parts, and this is very stony and full of limestone. There is more austerity, and it feels less juicy, with very fine tannins, with an ethereal texture; it feels light but there is inner strength. It's a very Burgundian Pinot Noir. 8,300 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2018.