2016 Catena Zapata Adrianna Vineyard White Bones Chardonnay

A dense and bright chardonnay that shows incredible depth and freshness with dried pineapple, licorice, aniseed and lemongrass. Full body, layered and very, very long. Linear and exciting. Goes on for minutes. Release October 2018. Drink or hold.

From the Adrianna Vineyard's most chalk-rich soils. Pungent acidity, like a freshly sharpened razor. 80% of the wine is matured under flor, accounting for the saline, almost iodised notes. Notes of white fruit and intense minerality in a complex yet delicious and refreshing white. Drinking Window 2019 - 2024

The slow ripening provided the 2016 White Bones Chardonnay with a little more structure while retaining very high acidity. The vines, at 1,500 meters in altitude, are planted on limestone-rich soils and didn't need watering in 2016, as it rained a lot more than usual and allowed for a more natural balanced crop. This has 13.1% alcohol and an amazing eight grams of acidity measured in tartaric acid. It's a lot more serious, like an austere version of the 2015, with the balsamic and floral aromas more in the background. It has a sharper palate, with pungent flavors and superb delineation and purity. This is precise like a laser cut, mineral, salty and veeeery serious and compact. Superb! 4,800 bottles were filled in July 2017. 2018 - 2028

A dense and bright chardonnay that shows incredible depth and freshness with dried pineapple, licorice, aniseed and lemongrass. Full body, layered and very, very long. Linear and exciting. Goes on for minutes. Release October 2018. Drink or hold.

Always priced just above White Stones, even if it's sourced from the same vineyard lot, this is consistently one of the best Chardonnays in the New World. Chalky, zesty and effortlessly complex, with a briney, iodine-like note, stylish oak and a freshness that lingers on the palate. 2018-26

Full, bright yellow-gold with a green tinge. Very sexy mineral accents enliven complex scents of white peach, apple and citrus zest. Wonderfully dense and palate-saturating, with superb mineral-driven acidity giving the wine superb inner-mouth tension and lift, not to mention sharp definition to its flavors of lemon and orange peel, quince and vanillin oak. Like the 2015 White Stones, this is a bit Chablis-like but in a grand cru way. Very long and alive on the aftertaste. Truly exciting Argentine Chardonnay.