2014 White Bones Chardonnay

Bright yellow. Much more smoky and reduced on the nose than the White Stones, hinting at a grassy quality. Conveys an impression of stronger acidity and less sweetness than the White Stones yet this is creamier in the mid-palate in spite of its terrific cut and texture. The mineral and grassy flavors are accented by an element of orange peel on the back end. Perhaps less sexy today than the White Stones but this wine needs time to express itself and is likely to be long-lived by the standards of Argentine Chardonnay. Extended aeration brought a distinctly minty quality throughout. These vines are planted on crumbly calcaire while the White Stones is on calcaire over stone.

Adrianna Vineyard is at almost 1,400 m in Gualtallary and this wine comes from select rows within block 1 of the vineyard. The name refers to the soil underneath these rows, which is layered with calcareous deposits and limestone as well as fossilised animal bones – remnants of a river that used to pass through the region. Day–night temperature variation in summer can be as much as 15-20 ºC. Fermented in French oak barrels with ambient yeasts. Aged 12-16 months in used French oak. Partial malo. Unfined and unfiltered. TA 8.7 g/l, pH 3.1.  Pale gold. Unexpected minty aroma at first (lemon balm?), then more herbal with a touch of cedar. On the palate, terrific freshness, cool and lightly minty too but also showing a stony mineral character. Highly distinctive.. Elegant, almost light weight in the mouth and a long, precise citrus finish. Of the two wines – White Bones and White Stones – this was the one I came back to most often. (JH)

The character of the soils used for the 2014 White Bones Chardonnay is so strong that it marked the wine more than the character of the vintage. 2014 was definitively riper than 2013, but the wine is still incredibly fresh and mineral. The parameters of these whites from Adrianna are just incredible, extremely low pH (around 3) and very high acidity (around nine grams in tartaric), which should provide for longevity. And great freshness and vibrant palates, of course. 2,100 bottles produced.