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N/V

- 92 points -

Bright medium yellow. Subtle stone fruits and brown spices along with a camal, truffley nuance on the perfumed, very ripe nose. Juicy, suave and fresh in the mouth, showing a more unctuous texture than the regular 2011 chardonnay but with plenty of framing energy. The peach and ginger flavors display excellent depth. Finishes dry and stony, with insistent minerality and a dusty talc-like texture. Under winemaker Alejandro Vigil, Catena is now picking chardonnay as much as two or three weeks earlier than just a few years ago, with the first grapes coming in with pHs in the very low 2.7 to 2.8 range.

March 2013