Bodega Chacra - Pinot Noir Treinta y Dos 2020 (750ml)
Price: $125.00
Sale Price: $100.00
| Producer | Bodega Chacra |
| Country | Argentina |
| Region | Patagonia |
| Varietal | Pinot Noir |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Sku | 1632038 |
| Size | 750ml |
James Suckling: 98 Points
Red cherries strawberries spiced plums violets cloves dried herbs undergrowth and a touch of smoke on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with firm tight-grained tannins. Firm mineral and tea-like tannin quality. Very focused and structured. Needs time. Try after 2025. From biodynamically grown grapes.
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jsWine Advocate: 96 Points
Like the majority of these wines, the percentage of wine in concrete that didn't see any oak in the 2020 Treinta y Dos has been increased to 50%, and the remaining 50% matured in French oak barrels (only 10% new) for nine months. It comes from a plot planted in 1932 on clay, sand and silt soils that deliver the most structured of Chacra's reds. The wine fermented in concrete with indigenous yeasts and has moderate 12.5% alcohol, which for a warmer and riper year like 2020, is remarkable. But of course, comparisons bring out the truth: 2020 was quite different climate wise from 2021, and the wines from 2020 show it. There's a little more ripeness, and the quality of the tannins is not the same, probably because of a hurried ripening of the grapes; plus, it's a little grainier and has a little more rusticity in the mouthfeel. It's faintly oaky but only faintly, even if there's no new oak whatsoever. 9,972 bottles were filled in November 2021.
Chacra is the fully certified organic and biodynamic project in Río Negro (Patagonia) from Piero Incisa della Rocchetta (you might recognize the Sassicaia surname here). He works 25 hectares of red grapes and a further 15 hectares of Chardonnay, all ungrafted and massal selections in Mainqué. Four years ago, they stopped using any chemicals in the vineyard, even sulfur, and have increased the number of beehives and replaced the capsules by beeswax. He has lowered the use of barrels (almost none new) and increased amphorae and concrete, aiming at enhancing the floral, mineral and energy aspects of their wines. They have built a new underground barrel room with bricks made out of local clay and stopped the use of refrigeration, instead using the natural temperature and also humidity (and salt from the river). Evaporation there is lower, and he finds the wines age better. He has also planted a further 30,000 poplar trees to give shade to the vines. Production varies between 125,000 and 135,000 bottles, depending on the vintage. For the white wines, he has the help of Jean-Marc Roulot. 2021 was quite cold but with a warm summer, which is normal in the region that delivered medium-bodied wines with floral and fruit-driven aromas and around 12.5% alcohol. I had a very long tasting with Piero and discussed the wines thoroughly. He wants to make the most delicious wines with no science, but he doesn't like Brett; though he is quite tolerant with volatility, which he says is quite high in all his wines but somehow is not noticeable. Since he introduced the bees, he's never had a fermentation stop. They work with cover crops (seven different ones, mainly mustard), and they are optimizing the use of water for irrigation. The organic and biodynamic approach is delivering results, and the plants are balanced after 20 years of respectful viticulture. The wines are clean, balanced, fresh and pure, alive. They have the protection from the lees, and depending on the years, they filter or not.
He has the idea to build a new separate winery for the wines with no sulfur (no more than 25,000 bottles) and is producing new wines, a Syrah, a Bastardo (Trousseau) and a Moscatel, and he has also regrafted a little Poulsard. He's also working in the social aspect of the people who work in the winery, food from the vegetable garden and even houses with solar panels...
