2017 Bodega Chacra Chardonnay Patagonia

They want to reserve the name Chacra for their top estate wines, so the top white is the 2017 Chacra Chardonnay. It was produced with the Burgundian barrel fermentation method, and the wine aged in barrels with the lees for some 11 months. They used about 15% new barrels, and the rest were used barriques from Roulot in Burgundy. They are now building their barrel collection, which they will reuse in future vintages. This was produced exclusively with the grapes from 40-year-old vines that were planted ungrafted with Merlot and late regrafted to Chardonnay, where they have very mineral soils with alluvial stones covered in calcaire. The wine is high pitched and livelier, like an upgraded version of their Mainqué Chardonnay, despite the fact that this top cuvée has gone through full malolactic. This is both rounder and more austere, if that makes sense, with only 12% alcohol, and it just has more intensity and more energy. It has the dry mouthfeel of the chalky texture from the soils and the tasty saltiness the zone tends to deliver. This is a most impressive debut, certainly the best Chardonnay from Río Negro and among the best in Argentina. I'm eager to follow the development of this bottling and the following vintages, as it's unbelievably refined, mineral and intense for a first effort. So, when they get to know their vineyard better, I'm sure the wines will be even better. But it seems like they have found a special place to produce this wine... 1,350 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2018.