EL ENEMIGO 2023 CHARDONNAY

Description

JAMES SUCKLING 96 POINTS – “Salty and spicy, with aromas of ginger, cardamom, lemons and sea salt. The palate is medium- to full-bodied, sharp and pungent, with a precise, saline character. Rich, focused and delicious. From grapes grown in Gualtallary. Fermented and aged in French oak, of which 35% was new.”
It shouldn’t be too surprising that the wine is this good, as El Enemigo has the pedigree: it’s a collaboration between Adriana Catenaand Alejandro Vigil, chief winemaker for Argentinian powerhouse Catena Zapata. The winery was named to represent their irreverence for the status quo (“the enemy”), and their Chardonnay certainly lives up to that, as it’s made in a style that breaks from the norm for New World whites!
In a unique twist for most Chardonnays, El Enemigo’s is aged almost completely under a “veil” of yeast that serves as a barrier between the wine and air, a common technique in the Jura region of France. This form of aging contributes to the savory and softened fruit aspectsthat rein in the piercing, freshly-fruited profileof Chardonnay grown in the intense sunlight of the high-altitude Gualtallary regionof Mendoza, Argentina.