Rating:
95
Luis Gutierrez - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
"The 2015 Cincuenta y Cinco, pure Pinot Noir from a vineyard planted in 1955 (cincuenta y cinco is Spanish for 55), is an elegant, direct red with tension obtained by fermenting the grapes from those stony, sandy and clay-rich soils in concrete vats with half of full clusters and indigenous yeasts. Forty percent of the wine matured in second use French oak barriques for eight months, while the rest of the volume was kept in concrete until blending and bottling. I tasted it twice because proprietor Piero Incisa della Roccheta was not happy with how the first bottle showed, even though I found it quite good. But he was right, the second one was even better, with more energy. They consider 2015 one of their finest vintages. This has a nose of ripe cherries, some violets and a sense of energy and freshness, with no trace of oak. The palate is extremely elegant, with ultra fine tannins and gobsmacking balance, all about subtleness without feeling diluted. This has power and elegance. For now and the next 10+ years. A superb showing for Cincuenta y Cinco. 17,500 bottles were filled in early January 2016."
Product Description:
"Bodega Chacra is located in the Rio Negro Valley of northern Patagonia. Barda is farmed certified organic and biodynamic grapes are hand harvested & sorted prior to fermentation with natural yeasts. The wine is aged 11 months in French oak barrels (25% new and 75% one year old) following a malolactic fermentation and a single gravity racking." -Importer
"In 2004, Piero Incisa della Rocchetta purchased the first of Bodega Chacra's vineyards, a property with an existing, though abandoned, vineyard planted in 1932. This singular vineyard of gnarled Pinot Noir vines, planted on their own rootstocks, is head trained and produces tiny bunches of small, concentrated berries. The vineyard's pale, dry, porous soils are dominated by gravel and coarse alluvial pebbles with significant limestone content.
Since acquisition of the 1932 vineyard, Piero Incisa has discovered and purchased two other old vine Pinot Noir vineyards which will produce two further Bodega Chacra single-vineyard wines beginning in the 2006 vintage. The first, from a vineyard planted in 1955, will be called "Cinquenta y Cinco." The second, from vines planted in 1967, will similarly be called "Sesanta y Sete." A fourth wine, called "Barda" ("The Ridge"), will be produced in later vintages. Conceived in the idea of a second wine, it will be a blend of components from the single-vineyard wines as well as wine from a recently planted, ten-acre vineyard on the original 1932 property. " -Winery