Bodega Chacra 'Cincuenta y Cinco 55' Pinot Noir, Rio Negro, Argentina 2024
Chacra was created in 2004 by Piero Incisa della Rocchetta, whose grandfather started the legendary Sassicaia Winery in Tuscany.. This vineyard of gnarled and ungrafted Pinot Noir vines was later added to a neighboring vineyard of vines planted in 1955. With these old vineyards, ostensibly in the middle of nowhere, Piero has created a winery that exists outside of the usual New World vs. Old World debate and is redefining what is possible with Pinot Noir (and now Chardonnay with the help of Jean-Marc Roulot) in the Southern Hemisphere. Pieros’ intention was to find the most unobstructed expression of the climate, micro-climate, and terroir of Mainqué in the Río Negro region of Patagonia. In Patagonia, a “chacra” is a special piece of land separated by canals that bring snowmelt from the Andes and make the Patagonian desert fertile.
Cincuenta y Cinco comes from vineyards planted in 1955 which gently rest on a sea of pebbles, typical in riverbed soils. It is fermented whole cluster at very low temperatures, enhancing the floral characteristics of the wine. Cincuenta y Cinco has the highest amount of tension of all the Chacra wines while it still retains a comfortable ease. There is a wonderful purity in this wine with dried strawberry and iodine. This refined red mixes crushed bilberry and cherry fruit with undertones of smoke, game and mineral. A fine length.
"The 2024 Cincuenta y Cinco was sourced from vines planted in 1955 on sand-dominated soils with silt and a small amount of clay content. It offers a hauntingly multidimensional expression of the Chacra project with a weightless allure than sets it apart within an impressive roster of wines. It opens with a detailed, blue-fruited nose radiating violet and rose petal aromas with an undercurrent of turned earth. The palate deftly balances a sleek, suave profile with nimble energy and palpable grace, effortlessly transitioning into a long, nuanced, ethereal finish whose complexity and dimension dramatically juxtaposes its slender frame. While I feel the Treinta y Dos bottling offers a slightly more complete expression of the Chacra project, this is a spectacular example of Patagonian Pinot Noir and one to measure others against." Wine Advocate 96+
