Catena Alta Chardonnay
Catena Alta Chardonnay
In the 1990s, Catena set a new standard for Argentine wine by investigating the yields from specially selected, high-altitude vineyards and identifying the individual rows that produce the best fruit. These vines undergo a careful thinning process, leaving only a select few clusters, resulting in remarkably complex, aromatic, and flavorful fruit.
With these wines, Catena Zapata continued their pioneering efforts, being the first to release Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay of this quality from Mendoza’s high-altitude wine country. The Alta wines are unfined and unfiltered. They can typically be drunk starting three years after harvest but continue to develop for another ten to twenty years.
Tasting Notes
Aromas of ripe peaches and pears are interwoven with delicate citrus and jasmine notes. The palate shows rich and concentrated ripe pear, apple, and apricot flavors. The wine finishes long and complex with crisp, mineral acidity.
In the 1990s, Catena set a new standard for Argentine wine by investigating the yields from specially selected, high-altitude vineyards and identifying the individual rows that produce the best fruit. These vines undergo a careful thinning process, leaving only a select few clusters, resulting in remarkably complex, aromatic, and flavorful fruit.
With these wines, Catena Zapata continued their pioneering efforts, being the first to release Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay of this quality from Mendoza’s high-altitude wine country. The Alta wines are unfined and unfiltered. They can typically be drunk starting three years after harvest but continue to develop for another ten to twenty years.
Tasting Notes
Aromas of ripe peaches and pears are interwoven with delicate citrus and jasmine notes. The palate shows rich and concentrated ripe pear, apple, and apricot flavors. The wine finishes long and complex with crisp, mineral acidity.
Brand Materials
Vineyard & Production Info
Winemaking & Aging
Analytical Data
About the Vineyard
Every vineyard has a sweet spot: a series of rows that yield the best quality fruit. Differences in soil structure, clonal selection, row orientation, slope, or vine density result in wines with a one-of-a-kind character, concentration, and personality. Catena has spent the last 30 years extensively mapping their estate vineyards to uncover these lots. The winery farms and vinifies each lot separately to showcase its unique expression. The blend of these rows, like the blend of musical notes that compose a symphony, creates a wine that is layered and complex, concentrated yet nuanced.
Catena Alta Chardonnay is produced from Dijon clonal selections in lot 1 of the Adrianna Vineyard (5,000 feet) and lot 7 of the Domingo Vineyard (3,700 feet). The Adrianna vineyard's pebble-covered soil and cool climate are ideal for growing Chardonnay. The fruit has a purity of flavor and minerality that cannot be found anywhere else in Mendoza. The Domingo Vineyard's sandy loam soils contribute white stone fruit and balanced acidity. This Chardonnay is 100% barrel fermented in French oak with aggressive battonage.