Bodega Aleanna - El Enemigo Chardonnay 2024

James Suckling

Youthful and lightly spicy aromas of freshly cut pineapple, chalk, star fruit and touches of kelp and nougat. Deliciously saline and pure on the medium-to full-bodied palate, with a long and lightly unctuous finish. The subtle salinity offers extra layers, length and definition to the wine. Drink from 2027.

Jeb Dunnuck

From a hot vintage, the 2024 Chardonnay grown in Gualtallary is made with 100% flor, which eats the sugar and glycerol that are more in abundance due to the heat. During cooler years, Vigil does the opposite. Creamy, peachy, and floral, it shows a good balance of acidity and fruit sweetness, medium-bodied with a hint of richness. Drink now through 2034.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Produced from sites in Gualtallary, including Adrianna Vineyard, the 2024 Chardonnay was vinified in 500-liter barrels, a portion of which underwent the biological aging that has become a signature of Alejandro Vigil's winemaking. Crushed stones, dried herbs, green fruits and saline overtones mark the nose, introducing one of the richer, broader palates in the introductory El Enemigo range. The finish recalls the energy of the nose, lingering long with pronounced salinity and herbal overtones.

A collaboration between Catena's winemaking director, Alejandro Vigil, and Adrianna Catena, El Enemigo ranks among a select handful of reference-point producers in Argentina. With an annual production of roughly two million bottles, the project is all the more impressive for its ability to marry quality with quantity. The portfolio focuses on the Uco Valley, with smaller holdings spanning Luján de Cuyo, Maipú and eastern Mendoza, each region yielding flagship bottlings rendered with unwavering clarity. Echoing the evolution of Vigil's winemaking at Catena Zapata, concrete accounts for an increasing share of fermentations—especially in the warm, low-yielding 2023 vintage—and of maturation across the range; where barrels remain in use, they are typically on at least their third pass. Also in keeping with Vigil's other work, the white wines undergo partial biological aging and partial malolactic fermentation, framed as both a stylistic choice and a response to a warming climate.

The portfolio opens with an overperforming and affordable range of varietal wines, including a set of site-specific, old-vine Bonardas from 100-year-old plantings in Rivadavia, a variety rarely rendered with such detail and complexity. The superb Gran Enemigo range features an impressive expression of Torrontés, fermented in clay amphora and aged for 18 months in 500-liter French oak barrels under flor, alongside a co-fermented red blend built in a staggered sequence: whole-cluster Malbec enters first, Cabernet Franc a few days later, Cabernet Sauvignon after that, followed by a final addition of Cabernet Franc. The range culminates in a centerpiece quartet of single-vineyard Cabernet Francs from Agrelo, Los Chacayes, El Cepillo and Gualtallary, all of which are now fermented in concrete with 20% to 40% whole bunches and matured for 15 months in the same vessels. Also at the top of the pyramid sits the As Bravas range, anchored by a pair of phenomenal Malbecs from Cordón El Cepillo and Gualtallary, fermented in concrete pools with 100% whole bunches and aged 64 months in old foudre.
Published: Aug 13, 2026

Tim Atkin

Patricio Tapia - Descorchados

The Chardonnays from Gualtallary, at the foot of the Andes in the Uco Valley, typically display a pronounced saline profile, especially when they come from soils rich in calcium carbonate, as is the case with this white wine. Here, saliva-inducing saline flavors combine with fruity notes in a light yet taut body, supported by a sharp, penetrating acidity. It was vinified in 500-liter barrels and aged there for one year.