Bemberg La Linterna Chardonnay Gualtallary Finca El Tomillo Plot #1 2019

Grape variety Chardonnay
About the winery The Bemberg family has selected its very best single vineyards for a special series of wines under the name La Linterna. The selected vineyards are spread from the north to the south of the Andes. Each wine is a precise translation of the microterroir of that location. The wines received very high scores immediately upon their first launch.
Vineyard and region Originating from the Finca El Tomillo vineyard, which is located at 1,210 meters above sea level. This vineyard is located in Gualtallary. The soil is alluvial. The vineyard was planted in 1998.
Vinification The grapes are selected and destemmed after manual harvesting. The grapes are pressed in whole bunches. The juice is then re-fermented for 36 hours. A fifth of the juice is fermented in concrete eggs. The other juice is fermented in French oak barrels (30 hl foeders and 300-500 liter barrels). Fermentation starts spontaneously with wild yeasts. Malolactic conversion only occurs for 20%, which makes the wine creamier but retains its freshness. The wine matures for 10 months on the yeast cells.
Colour Pale yellow.
Smell Nectarines, lemon, mandarin, orange blossom and jasmine.
Taste Elegant with precise, lively acids. Macadamia nuts, cream, apricot jam, flint. Minerals. Energetic.
Serve with Delicious with a veal oyster with roasted almonds.
Serving temperature 10-12 °C
Robert Parker 92
James Suckling 95
Vinous 94
Awards "The 2019 La Linterna Chardonnay Finca El Tomillo – Parcela #1 Gualtallary fermented, like all wines here, with indigenous yeasts in a mixture of concrete and oak and matured with lees and bâtonnage for 10 months. It has 13.66% alcohol and a low pH (3.35), denoting freshness, and there's concentration and balance. They harvested at three different points of ripeness, from a mix of different soils. This is the first vintage in the new winery, so there's a lot of new oak, more than in future years, and the wine is a bit marked by the wood with some smoky and toasty notes. -Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"Aromas of baked apricots, salted butter, toast, smoked almonds, cedar and white lavender. It's full-bodied with a creamy, dense and buttery palate. Yet, it remains fresh and bright, with lovely balance of fruit and oak spice. Generous and elegant at the same time" - James Suckling

"The 2019 Chardonnay La Linterna Finca El Tomillo, Parcela 1, comes from Gualtallary in the Uco Valley. For this vintage, 20% of the wine was aged in concrete eggs, while the remaining 80% matured in a combination of 3000L foudres and new 300L barrels for 10 months. Yellow in the glass with a greenish sheen. The nose presents enticing cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger notes layered over a bed of green apple and herbs before late-developing but pristine tangerine aromas. nimble and concentrated with a refreshing, saline mouthfeel before the long-lasting, flavorful finish." - Vinous

"Attractive and very inviting, with beautiful aromatics of toast, fresh lemon and lime and a pretty stony reduction, then to a textured palate laced with lush yellow stone fruit, cut apple, well-judged oak and a harmonious, fresh acidity." - 97 points, Decanter on the 2017 vintage

"Citrus fruit, fine toast, compact. Tasty, but elegant, beautifully blended, long." - 5/5 stars, Perswijn on the 2015 vintage
Wine type White wine
Winery Bemberg
Country Argentina
Region Mendoza
Appellation Uco Valley
Year 2019
Alcohol percentage 13.50