Catena Zapata White Bones Chardonnay 2020

Catena Zapata White Bones Chardonnay 2020

 

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Catena Zapata
White Bones Chardonnay 2020
  • Vintage : 2020
  • Country : Argentina
  • Region : Mendoza
  • Subregion
  • Type : White
  • Style Creamy Full Bodied White
  • Format : 75cl
  • Alcohol : 13,5°
  • Grappes : 100% Chardonnay

Experts Score Vintage
JS James Suckling 99 2020
VN Vinous (Antonio Galloni) 96 2020
WS Wine Spectator 95 2020
WE Wine Enthusiast 94 2020
RP Robert Parker 98 2019
JR Jancis Robinson 17.5 2017
DCT Decanter 98 2016
W&S Wines & Spirits 96 2015
More information on wine critics and ratings

White Bones Chardonnay comes from select rows within Block 1 of the Adrianna Vineyard. The wine is fermented and aged in French oak barrels with about two-thirds undergoing malolactic fermentation.

The name refers to the soil underneath these rows, which is layered with calcareous deposits and limestone as well as fossilized bones – the remnants of a river that used to pass through the region. 

Tasting Notes

The White Bones Chardonnay has a bright lemon yellow color in the glass. The nose shows an enticing mélange of apples and pears interwoven with stone fruit notes and vanilla.

On the palate, the wine is full-bodied with a rich and concentrated mouthfeel and flavors of ripe Anjou pears, apples, quince, and apricot flavors with hints of vanilla and nuttiness.

The overall impression of the wine is one of balance with a bright, clean acidity and lingering finish.

Nicola Catena planted his first Malbec vineyards in Mendoza in 1902. Malbec had been a blending grape in Bordeaux, but Nicola suspected it would find its hidden splendor in the Argentine Andes. Fast forward sixty years and Nicola’s grandson Nicolas took the reigns of the family firm. Since the mid-1960s, Nicolas has spent his career building Catena in to one of the world’s best wineries, emulating what his mentor Robert Mondavi achieved in California. Nicolas was a pioneer of… Read more

James Suckling (JS) : 99 Points (2020)
Fascinating nose of white lavender, lemon, pineapple, green apple, thyme, rosemary, sourdough, almond and oyster shell. It’s medium-bodied with vibrant acidity and a tense, spicy palate. So much flavor and fragrance. Incredibly expressive, with evolving layers of fresh fruit, spices, flowers and herbs. Drink or hold.

Vinous (Antonio Galloni) (VN) : 96 Points (2020)
The 2020 Chardonnay Adrianna Vineyard White Bones from Gualtallary was aged for 16 months in used barrels. Green in the glass. The complex nose presents notes of ginger initially followed by hints of mint, green apple and iodine. The aging process helps to bring out the grape’s flavors. In the mouth, it’s compact with a taut, saline flow, creamy feel and finish in which the flor leaves a dry, cleansing sensation. An enticing wine. (JH) (8/2022)

Wine Spectator (WS) : 95 Points (2020)
Wildly expressive and distinctive, showing off a range of sage, savory and chive blossom aromas and flavors that join a vibrant core of grapefruit and white peach, with details of citrus-marinated Picholine olive and river stone weaving in and out. Beautifully elegant and complex, with great length on the crisp finish, where hints of crème fraîche chime in. Drink now through 2032.

Wine Enthusiast (WE) : 94 Points (2020)
This white comes from a plot within the famous Adrianna Vineyards in Gualtallary, Uco Valley. The soil profile includes calcareous layers, limestone and fossilized animal bones. It’s vibrant and delicate, opening with aromas of eucalyptus, wet stone, lime and almond. A dry and harmonious palate with mineral texture offers lime, kumquat, apricot, herbs, honey and hints of smoke that linger in the delicious finish.

Robert Parker (RP) : 98 Points (2019)
The very minty 2019 White Bones Chardonnay comes from select rows within Block 1 of the Adrianna Vineyard in Gualtallary. The name refers to the soil underneath these rows, which is layered with calcareous deposits and limestone as well as fossilized animal bones—remnants of a river that used to pass through the region, closer to Los Cerrillos del Jaboncillo; it's an old soil in a new formation. 2019 is a cool vintage, and the wine is only 12.6% alcohol and has notable acidity (8.1 grams), and it always has a more extroverted personality than the more austere White Stones. It has tons of aromatic herbs, thyme, lavender, lemongrass, rockrose and balsamic with some curry (the wine had some aging under flor), and it has a vibrant palate where the acidity is effervescent and lively and the finish salty. It's vibrant and sharp, more in the style of a Chablis. Truly outstanding. This is a very recognizable wine. 6,000 bottles were filled in May 2020. (LG) (3/2021)

Jancis Robinson (JR) : 17.5 Points (2017)
The subtlest whiff of struck match mingles effortlessly with stone fruits on the nose. A complex palate that is mouth-filling and at the same time supremely refreshing with a tangerine/mandarin acidity. This is repeatedly one of Argentina’s finest Chardonnays, it is subtle and elegant yet with bags of concentration and intensity. 17.5/20 points. (AC) (9/2019)

Decanter (DCT) : 98 Points (2016)
From the Adrianna Vineyard’s most chalk-rich soils. Pungent acidity, like a freshly sharpened razor. 80% of the wine is matured under flor, accounting for the saline, almost iodised notes. Notes of white fruit and intense minerality in a complex yet delicious and refreshing white

Wines & Spirits (W&S) : 96 Points (2015)
Catena planted the Adrianna Vineyard in 1996 in Gualtallary, pioneering what is today one of the most sought-after regions in the Uco Valley. Winemaker Alejandro Vigil selects one area of the vineyard especially rich in alluvial chalk for this chardonnay. He ages the wine in 500-liter barrels, allowing a veil of yeast to develop, lending saline notes, like those of a Fino Sherry. As the wine opens, bright white fruit gains precedence, along with the penetrating mineral notes. White Bones seems to distill the desert soils of Gualtallary in a crystal clear and brilliant way. A delight to drink now, it has enough inner strength to last for a decade.

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Catena Zapata White Bones Chardonnay 2020 Reviewed by James Suckling 06-09-2023 . Score: 5