Bodega Chacra Mainque 2024 Chardonnay
James Suckling's #1 Wine of Argentina in 2025
"So linear and driven, with so much tension and intensity. Aromas of sliced apples, lemons and stones. Medium-bodied with flavors of apples, seashells, lemons and crushed stones. It goes on and on. Matured in 30% amphorae and 70% oak. Fantastic. Drink or hold." -James Suckling, 97JS
This may sound like a 1st world wine problem, but when your grandfather is Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, founder of Tenuta San Guido and Sassicaia, it's a high bar to match if one wants to make wine close to home. And that's the catalyst for the star of today's story, Piero Incisa della Rocchetta, and his quest to make world class wines without comparing them to one of the world's most famous bottles. But a chip off the old block brought a few tools of the family trade with him as he searched the world for an estate to call his own, namely a skill for sourcing old vine parcels, and an ode to his grandfather's early winemaking processes (biodynamic farming, no root grafting of vines, horse-drawn tills and no use of oak to age the wines).
But he didn't stop there. To create a world class production, he had 3 more tricks up his sleeve. The first was stumbling across a then 75-year old Pinot Noir vineyard in Patagonia of all places. Planted in 1932 (and the namesake of the Treinta y Dos bottling), the 1.3 hectare parcel was neglected but showed incredible promise as the flagship of his new estate. That planted the flag - "we'll make wines here", he thought, "in the Patagonian hinterland of Mainqué". Next, he needed help to farm these vineyards (after all, great wines are grown, not made), so he brought in Pedro Parra, world class consultant for Château Lafite in Bordeaux, Biondi Santi in Montalcino and Commando G in Spain, but also a Chilean longing to make something exceptional closer to home. Which all led to the last domino falling: Jean-Marc Roulot. One of Burgundy's greatest white wine producers also worked with Pedro, and over a dinner in Burgundy the three men drunkenly saw the potential of Chablis-like soil in Argentina, but with greater ripening potential. And with that, Bodega Chacra was born.
| Vintage | 2024 |
| Varietal | Chardonnay |
| Appellation | Patagonia |
| Vineyard | Rio Negro |
| Alcohol | 14.00% |
| Volume | 750 ml |
| Country of Origin | ARGENTINA |
| State of Origin | N/A |
| Sparkling Wine | No |
