Catena Zapata Adrianna Vineyard White Stones Chardonnay 2020

Product Information: Its name refers to the ground beneath the vines which is covered with gravel – oval white stones. This Chardonnay comes from a select 27 rows within Block 1 of the extreme Adrianna Vineyard. The sense of place with these wines is tremendous, it transfers you to the Gualtallary vineyards at the foot of the Andes with its stony, chalky grounds. It delivers salinity and long-lasting flavour. A thrilling Chardonnay from one of Argentina’s leading producers. The 2020 White Stones Chardonnay ferments in French oak barrels for 45 – 95 days at 16°C. With some battonage and partial malolactic fermentation to curb the bountiful acidity. It is aged for 12-16 months in second, third and fourth use French oak barrels. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. Maker: Nicolás Catena Zapata planted the Adrianna vineyard in Gualtallary with a single goal in mind: to find the coolest location for growing vines in Mendoza. Originally, viticulturists feared that Bordeaux varieties such as Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon would not ripen in Adrianna. In terms of the Winkler classification, a method developed in California to add degrees and categorise regions according to their climate, the weather at Adrianna is between zone 1 and zone 2 depending on the year, putting it between Burgundy and a very cool part of Bordeaux. Even so, no French woman would dare to plant Cabernet Sauvignon or Malbec in Burgundy. Yet that is exactly what the Catenas did in the high-altitude soils of Adrianna. Nicolás planted the Adrianna Vineyard with Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay cuttings from France, and with Malbec taken from Lot 18 of his 75-year-old Angélica vineyard. Over the next few years the wines consistently proved to have more minerality and more acidity than wines from other sites in the Southern Uco Valley at lower altitudes—sites such as Altamira, La Consulta and Eugenio Bustos. The Adrianna Malbecs have more grip and denser tannins. Vineyard: For over four generations, the Catena family has grown vines in the foothills of the Andes Mountains in Mendoza, Argentina. In his pursuit to make wines that stand with the best in the world, Nicolás Catena identified the best lots, and rows, in the Catena family’s estate vineyards. The Adrianna vineyard is located at almost 1500m elevation in the Gualtallary sub-district of the Tupungato region of Uco Valley Mendoza. At this extreme high altitude, the nights are cool, only a few degrees above freezing even in the summer. The night-day temperature difference is between 15 and 20 degrees. And the sunlight is more intense because of the altitude. The rocky soil enables deep root growth and allows for ideal drainage conditions. These are very poor soils where the vines are constantly in conditions of stress. The cool nights allow for very slow ripening, optimal acid retention and low yields. Nose – White Pepper, Jasmine, Crush Stones The intense, layered nose presents bold aromas of green apple, pear, hints of linden blossom and ginger with touches of lemon and herbs. Palate – Lemon, Quince, Racy Acidity In the mouth, it’s concentrated, rooted in a lively, heightened freshness while maintaining the variety’s expansive flow. Finish – Creamy, Almond, Salinity Creamy with salted-almond characteristics and long-lasting flavour. Lemon zest, pineapple, white pepper, cloves, jasmine, crushed stones and chalk on the nose. Medium-bodied, focused and phenolic. Very fine, mineral and tight with persistent energy and vivid acidity. Creamy, with salted-almond notes at the end. – JamesSuckling.com, 97 Points. I had the opportunity to taste two vintages (2020 and 2021) of the top whites side by side and could see the differences of the two years quite clearly, as the wines express the natural conditions of the year quite faithfully. The 2020 White Stones Chardonnay is riper than the other three wines; it’s a very good wine, but it shows the warmer year with a rounder mouthfeel, faintly creamy, still a little closed in the nose, which slowly reveals yellow fruit and some spice. The palate is quite gentle, with 13% alcohol and very good balance. 7,500 bottles produced. – Luis Gutierrez, RobertParker.com, 96 Points.