Chardonnay Catena
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed within 2–5 years of vintage release.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted chicken, grilled sea bass, creamy mushroom risotto
✨ Technical Specifications
The Catena Chardonnay represents a landmark achievement in Argentine winemaking, born from the Catena family's revolutionary vision to produce world-class white wines in the high-altitude foothills of the Andes. In the late 20th century, conventional wisdom held that Mendoza was far too warm for elegant Chardonnay. Defying skeptics, Nicolás Catena sought out extreme elevations in Tupungato, where intense mountain sunlight and cool alpine nights yield grapes with remarkable acid structure and concentrated flavors. Sourced from historic family vineyards, this wine is partially barrel-fermented using wild yeasts and aged in French oak, seamlessly blending rich citrus and stone fruit notes with a vibrant, mineral-driven backbone that redefined the potential of South American white wines.
🍾 About the Producer
Founded in 1902 by Italian immigrant Nicola Catena, Bodega Catena Zapata is the preeminent pioneer of modern Argentine viticulture. In the 1980s and 1990s, third-generation visionary Nicolás Catena Zapata revolutionized the domestic industry by venturing into extreme high-altitude Andean terroirs, most notably planting the famed Adrianna Vineyard in Gualtallary at nearly 1,500 meters above sea level. Today directed by Dr. Laura Catena and celebrated winemaking director Alejandro Vigil, the estate pairs rigorous micro-terroir research through the Catena Institute of Wine with precision viticulture across alluvial, limestone-laced gravel soils. Fermentations frequently incorporate whole clusters and indigenous yeasts, vinified in concrete, oak foudres, and French barriques to preserve freshness, structural nuance, and site-specific tension. Benchmark bottlings such as the flagship Nicolás Catena Zapata, Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae Malbec, and Adrianna Vineyard White Stones Chardonnay stand as global archetypes of high-elevation South American fine wine.
🍇 Grapes
Chardonnay
🍷 ABV
13-13.5%