Since 2017, Bodega Chacra owner Piero Incisa della Rocchetta (third generation member of family behind Sassicaia) has teamed up with friend Jean-Marc Roulot of Domaine Roulot to craft exceptional Chardonnay from the marginal climate of the Rio Negro subregion of Patagonia. Piero always held a passion for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – obviously not varieties commonly seen in Tuscany! – and after a blind tasting of Pinot Noir in 2001 was stunned to discover that the wine he loved most was from Patagonia. He searched the region for vineyards, many of which has been largely abandoned in favor of more developed regions further north. In 2004, Bodega Chacra was formed with the acquisition of several old vine vineyards, with plantings as old as 70 years. The 2024 Mainque Chardonnay is sourced from three parcels, all farmed biodynamically, and fermented in neutral barrel. Piero believe this southerly region of Argentina, located about equidistant from the Andes mountains and the South Atlantic Ocean, has a pure, unpolluted energy, and this undeniably comes through in the glass. So racy and electric, with notes of crisp green apple and celery leaf, the purity of the fruit is radiant. Very lean and mineral-driven, with a slightly saline finish that stretches on, this is an incredible example of cool climate New World Chardonnay that might just convert a few Burgundy lovers!

There's this super ephemeral note that I'm trying to chase down in this wine that I just cannot quite seem to nail down, at first I think it's a little honey or beeswax, but then there's a more natural sort of apples and lemon curd rounding the whole thing out. The palate is really savory, there's some pretty fruit and a lot of pithy lemon in there, but there's also a sort of oily mid-note that I'm really enjoying, this is just a bottle of super classy Chardonnay that has finesse and polish, I want a little more age on this because this is absolutely the type of Chardonnay that's going to sing with a little more time.