Catena Zapata, Catena Adrianna White Stones Chardonnay, Mendoza, Argentina, 2018

Tasting notes:
View: Bright / Straw yellow / Clean
Bouquet: White flowers / Mineral notes / Floral scents / Delicate
Mouth: Elegant / Persistent / Long / Fruit notes / Good acidity / Floral notes / Vivacious / Refreshing

Food Match:
Pair with Charcuterie & Cheese, Fish, Appetizers, Lobster, White Pasta or Pork.

98+ points, “Simply superb, possibly the finest vintage for this bottling so far.” – Wine Advocate

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate compared this latest vintage of Catena’s Adrianna Vineyard White Stones to Roulot – the Burgundy producer responsible for some of the most sought-after Chardonnay on the planet.

Intense, pure and dazzling; it’s almost as if White Stones has been cut straight from an enormous diamond. It hails from just 27 rows of vines in a cool-climate and high-altitude vineyard in Gualtallary, which is covered in oval white stones. However, Adrianna Vineyard is not just any old plot of vines. Planted in 1992, this is South America’s Grand Cru and will one day be right up there with the likes of La Tâche and Lafite. Aged in French oak for between 12 and 16 months, this Chardonnay is broad and creamy, blazing with beach pebbles, lemon zest, orange peel, apple crisps, mango, apple pie, pizza dough and butterscotch. A monumental wine that should be treated as you might a Grand Cru Burgundy.

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.

White Stones Chardonnay comes from a select 27 rows within Block 1 of the Adrianna Vineyard. The name refers to the ground beneath the vines which is covered with gravel – oval white stones.

The Adrianna vineyard is located at almost 5,000’ elevation in the Gualtallary sub-district of the Tupungato region. The rocky soil prevents 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.

Winemaking & Aging:
Cold settling for 12 hours in stainless steel tanks at 6º C. Fermentation in French oak barrels for 45 – 95 days at 16°C. Battonage. Partial malolactic fermentation. Aged for 12-16 months in 2nd, 3d and 4th use French oak barrels.

Awards:
THE WINE ADVOCATE: 98 Points
DECANTER: 98 Points
JEB DUNNUCK: 94 Points

Catena Zapata was named “The World’s Most Admired Wine Brand 2020” by Drinks International. Established in 1902, the bodega played a pioneering role in the explosion of Malbec and in exploring extreme high-altitude winemaking. Nicolás Catena Zapata, a former Decanter Man of the Year, is widely credited with putting Argentinean wine on the world map and should be placed on a level with the likes of Robert Mondavi in Napa and Angelo Gaja in Piedmont. “The most important winery in Argentina”, according to Wine Advocate, who also notes that: “the name Catena on the label is a guarantee of quality.” The winery is now run by Dr Laura Catena, the fourth-generation vintner and a graduate of both Harvard and Stanford Universities, who is fast becoming the face of Argentinian wine. When she’s not making wine or writing books, she is a part-time physician of Emergency Medicine in San Francisco – a suitably remarkable winemaker for an equally remarkable estate.