Why this wine matters
More than a famous label.
Catena has spent decades exploring altitude in Mendoza, and the Alta range sits between its everyday wines and its top single-vineyard bottlings.
Catena Zapata · Mendoza
Catena Alta Chardonnay
Chardonnay · pear · white peach · citrus · jasmine · high-altitude freshness
Catena Alta Chardonnay gives the 366 a high-altitude Argentine Chardonnay with enough name recognition to sell and enough regional distinction to teach.
Country
Argentina
Region
Mendoza
Appellation
Mendoza
Grapes
Chardonnay
Style
White
Realistic spend
£22–£32
Budget band: £20–£35
Best moments
birthdaymothers dayanniversarydinner partygift
A recognisable high-altitude Chardonnay for gifts, anniversaries and polished dinners.
How it is made
The decisions behind the style.
The style combines ripe high-altitude Chardonnay fruit with controlled oak and lees influence, aiming for concentration without losing natural acidity.
What does it taste like?
The shape of the wine.
Ripe pear and white peach meet citrus and jasmine, with a creamy but fresh palate and a clean mineral line.
Body4/5
Acidity4/5
Tannin0/5
Sweetness0/5
Oak influence3/5
Freshness4/5
Aroma4/5
Serve it well
Serve around 10–12°C.
If this wine were human…
The grounded achiever
If Catena Alta Chardonnay were human, it would be ambitious enough to get things done and sensible enough not to make a speech about it.
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Does any of this sound suspiciously familiar?
Ambitious enough to get things done and sensible enough not to make a speech about it. You notice small details and then pretend you did not, mostly to see whether anyone else does.
At dinner, you are happy to share the bottle, but you definitely noticed who poured themselves the heroic measure. Secretly, you are slightly competitive about having found the good place before everyone else.
In short: ambitious enough to get things done and sensible enough not to make a speech about it. chardonnay energy, translated into a person.
Purely for fun — this is the wine’s fictional personality, not a psychological reading of yours.
What to eat with it
And the cheese?
No dead ends.
Start with this wine and move straight into cheese, or build a whole tasting around it.
Keep exploring
There are 365 more wines where this came from.
Research sources
This profile is researched against producer or similarly authoritative material. Vintage-specific details are kept separate from the permanent wine identity.