Catena Zapata - Adrianna Vineyard White Stones Chardonnay 2018

James Suckling

A very subtle yet intense White Stones on the nose with stone, bone, lemon-rind and dried-apple aromas that follow through to a full body that is very tight and closed, but shows a compact fruit structure of sliced mangoes and cooked apples. Vivid finish, turning to flamboyant minerality. In reserve still. Better in 2022.

Wine Spectator

Tim Atkin

Patricio Tapia - Descorchados

More than 1,350 meters above sea level, the soils for this chardonnay are rich in calcium carbonate and have walls of limestone, sand, and compact gravel in the Gualtallary zone in the north of the Uco Valley, in what is known as Monasterio, a place whose mountain climate and those special soils have made it one of the great sources of whites and reds today. In this case, the strong presence of calcium carbonate and the cold climate give the impression that it's a wine made of stones instead of fruit. It's sharp and vertical and acts like an arrow shooting across the palate. It was aged beneath a thin veil of flor, which winemaker Alejandro Vigil says reduces fat and removes glycerol and that broad sensation. All this explains the style and the architecture of this white, one of the greats in South America.

Falstaff

One of the most remarkable white wines in South America. Ripe lemon, mandarine orange, tarragon, white mint and superbly integrated, smoky oak. Then on the palate this is practically vibrating with energy and precise, linear acidity; almost Mendoza meets Grand Cru Chablis in style. Gorgeous, chalky texture and no end of flavour. Superb.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The outstanding 2018 White Stones Chardonnay epitomizes the expression of the grape in the cooler-climate and high-altitude location of the Adrianna vineyard in Gualtallary. There is rectitude, austerity and elegance, a subtle wine with great clout and intensity that comes through as chiseled, focused, symmetric and pure, more in the style of Roulot than Coche-Dury, with superb integration of all the elements and fine minerality. This is more about the place and vintage than the grape, which feels like a good way to transmit the chalky soils of the selected plots. Simply superb, possibly the finest vintage for this bottling so far. 6,600 bottles were filled in May 2019.

Catena is one of the quality leaders in Argentina and it's also a large winery, so they combine quality and quantity. Furthermore, they are one of the pioneers: They were the first to plant vineyards in Gualtallary, which is nowadays considered one of the highest potential zones in the country, but they were deemed crazy when they planted there. The wines are phenomenal, true to their place and vintage, and the accompanying notes merit reading to see what each of their wines is. Comparing 2016 and 2017, it seems like 2017 was better in Altamira and 2016 was a great success in Gualtallary, but there's a lot more information on each wine. They also have a new range of non-sulfur wines called La Marchigiana.