Atamisque Chardonnay 2025

Honestly, the challenge here when writing about this wine, is to avoid becoming too gushy, to avoid hyperbole, and to avoid making comparisons with vastly more expensive wines from other countries, particularly one country and its most famous white wine region.

Sod it…

This is absolutely bloody brilliant! It’s a masterpiece. This is as good as it gets in terms of South American Chardonnay. It makes most of the big, rich southern hemisphere Chardonnays call for weight loss injections. It makes many of its counterparts from Burgundy at four or five times the price look vacant, arrogant, greedy and wanting of love.

The facts…

100% Chardonnay from San José in Tupungato, made by Philipe Caraguel whose extensive experience includes vintages in France. Double guyot vines on alluvial soils at 1,250 MASL. Double selection of bunches pressed whole at cool temperatures. Wild yeast fermentation in 100% new (very posh, low toast) French oak barrels for 30 days at 15

degrees C with full, natural Malo completed. Aged in the same barrels for a further 10 months prior to bottling. Ageing potential 10 years plus.

 

For Chardonnay nuts who don’t want too much vanilla / toast / butter, preferring very finely judged oak and a wine that exudes elegance and complexity as much as it does bang-on stylistic integrity, with wonderful natural acidity and poise – Atamisque!