El Enemigo, Chardonnay, Mendoza, Argentina 2022

Description

James Suckling 96
"This has aromas of ripe apricots, buttercream, baked apples and pastries. Medium-to full-bodied with a creamy, round and almost oily texture. Lovely balance of ripe fruit and toasted-pastry notes with bright acidity. Delicious finish. Fantastic value, as always. Drink now or hold."

Vinous Media 94
"The 2020 Chardonnay El Enemigo from Gualtallary, Uco Valley was aged in oak with flor for twelve months with 15% coming from other years. Yellowish green in the glass. The nose presents notes of hazel and chestnuts accompanied by green apple and expressive whiffs of chamomile and pineapple. In the mouth, it's taut with heightened freshness and a compact character from the flor exposing the skeletal acidity."

El Enemigo translates as the enemy. Nodding to the fact that at the end of any journey, most remember only one battle — the one fought within (the original enemy). This is the battle that defines us. The wines of El Enemigo are a tribute to those internal battles that make us who we are, brought to fruition by a winemaker, Alejandro Vigil, and a historian, Adrianna Catena who share a love of wine and reach back in time to capture the era when European immigrants first settled in Argentina. These settlers sought to make wines as fine, and finer, than those of their old homeland. By 1936, Malbec and Petit Verdot were the most widely planted fine varietals in Argentina, their blend considered the ultimate in refinement and aging potential. El Enemigo is produced at Piedemonte al Sur, located in southern foothills of Maipu, Mendoza. The facility is named for the unique aspect of Mendoza’s high-altitude winemaking region nestled in the foothills of the Andes Mountains. Alejandro Vigil is a soil expert, a winemaker and an animal lover. He is the Chief Winemaker at Bodega Catena Zapata and the former head of the soil division at Argentina’s Wine Institute. Among his many pets, he keeps a cow to produce milk for donation to the local school children.