Catena Alta Chardonnay
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Typically best enjoyed 3–8 years from the vintage release, though top vintages can develop beautifully for up to a decade.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Roasted chicken with herbs, pan-seared sea bass, creamy mushroom risotto
✨ wine.spec_sheet
Catena Alta Chardonnay is a landmark white wine that redefined Argentina's potential for premium white winemaking. Born from Nicolás Catena's quest to produce a white wine that could rival the great Burgundies of the world, this cuvée is sourced from select rows in the family's high-altitude estate vineyards, primarily the Adrianna Vineyard at almost 5,000 feet elevation and the Domingo Vineyard. The extreme altitude provides intense sunlight balanced by cool mountain nights, preserving vibrant acidity and developing complex aromatic profiles. The wine is fermented using wild yeasts in French oak barrels, where it undergoes partial malolactic fermentation and extensive lees stirring to build a rich, creamy texture that perfectly balances its piercing mineral spine.
🍾 wine.about_producer
Founded in 1902 by Italian immigrant Nicola Catena, the historic Catena Zapata estate is located in Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina, and remains family-owned under the visionary leadership of Nicolás Catena Zapata and his daughter Laura. Renowned for pioneering high-altitude viticulture in the Andean foothills, the winery revolutionized Argentine winemaking by proving that world-class, age-worthy wines could be produced from extreme mountain terroirs. Their production philosophy focuses on meticulous parcel selection and soil-specific micro-vinifications, particularly within the acclaimed Adrianna Vineyard. Catena Zapata is celebrated globally for its profound, structured red wines, most notably its flagship Bordeaux-style blend, Nicolás Catena Zapata, and the highly expressive, mineral-driven Adrianna Vineyard River Stones Malbec.