Nose
The aromas show tropical fruit flavors with touches of apple and pear as well as hints of cinnamon and minerals.
Palate
The 2008 vintage of the Catena Chardonnay combines the unique expressions of three high altitude vineyard sites. The La Piramide vineyard offers rich pineapple, passion fruit flavors and aromas with a touch of sweet honey with a rich mouthfeel. The Domingo vineyard lends notes of citrus fruit with floral notes and excellent acidity. The Adrianna vineyard contributes green apple, pear and fig flavors with a strong mineral component and vibrant acidity. The mouthfeel is full yet clean, with fresh, crisp acidity.
Growing Conditions
The 2007 - 2008 growing season began with a warmer than usual Spring and early Summer. The conditions were also exceptionally dry. This caused the physiological ripening of sugars to accelerate but the phenological ripening of polyphenols to slow down. Veraison, as a result, was 7 - 10 days later than normal in most areas. In late January, some precipitation moved in which lowered temperatures and brought the physiological and phenological ripening processes back into synchronization.
The month of February saw rather unstable weather throughout the region, with some isolated thunder and hail storms. The isolated nature of the precipitation meant that each vineyard received several light to medium rains throughout the month.
This actually served to replace the normal irrigation regimes implemented in the Catena Zapata vineyards. The extremely low yields, combined with well drained soils, meant that there were very few sanitary issues throughout the winery's vineyards. March was characterized by lower precipitation than February and a continued drop in temperatures. As the grapes entered into the last month of ripening, the conditions were excellent for an outstanding vintage.
The month of April has been dry and very cool. The grapes still on the vine are developing very nicely and will be harvested in excellent sanitary conditions and with exceptional levels of concentration and complexity.
Winemaking
Total Acidity: 6.1 grams/liter
Appearance
The wine shows a light yellow color with marked greenish tones.
