High-flying Chardonnay

Bodega Lagarde’s high-flying Chardonnay

There are so many places we could start when talking about our friends at Bodega Lagarde.

One of the oldest wineries in Argentina … family-owned for generations … custodians of century-old vines. Not to mention impeccable sustainability credentials, Michelin-starred restaurants and, most importantly, phenomenal wines.

But this Friday we’d thought we’d talk about their Chardonnay, La Guarda. From one of the most exciting spots in Mendoza right now, an ultra site-specific wine with very expensive neighbours, a wine that sums up so much of what drew us to Bodega Lagarde.

It’s all about positive altitude

One of the key words when it comes to fine wine in Argentina is ‘altitude’.

So much of the country’s winemaking is defined by the Andes – the snowmelt that runs down from them through ancient drainage systems dug centuries ago, and without which Mendoza would be a desert – and the cooling effects of altitude allowing longer ripening time.

As the Bodega’s Sofía Pescarmona explained to us in the office during a ‘Lagarde 101’, every hundred metres of altitude, the temperature drops by around a degree.

In Salta, further north, closer to the equator, vines can climb to a barely-believable 3000 metres. Sofía is trialling some plantings there. In the meantime, her focus is on the winery’s heartland in Mendoza, where the perfect conditions, she says, sit between 1000 to 1500 metres, depending on grape.

And up at 1500 metres is one of Bodega Lagarde’s most exciting vineyards of all.

Argentina’s new Chardonnay sweet spot – Gualtallary

At the northern tip of Mendoza’s premium Uco Valley sits the tiny subregion of Gualtallary. We’re high up here – the equivalent of the peak of Ben Nevis. But that cooling effect, combined with perfect sun exposure and, particularly, the thin, very well-draining, calcareous soils, offer the perfect Chardonnay conditions.

So much so, that the vineyard next door to Bodega Lagarde’s, is owned by perhaps Argentina’s most famous winery, and sells its Chardonnay for triple-figure prices.

Separated from that vineyard by only the width of a tractor track, Lagarde’s Chardonnay has exactly the same growing conditions, the same sunlight, cooling altitude and fossil-rich, white, calcareous soils. It’s made with the same low-intervention precision, 50% aged in French oak, just like its neighbour … yet is available for between a quarter to a fifth of the price.

One of the smartest tips in Argentinian fine wine right now

Sofía was emphatic about the rate at which Gualtallaray vineyard land is being bought up right now. It’s one of Argentina’s most coveted spots, and opportunities to samples its wines will become more and more exclusive.

We’re delighted to be able to offer La Guarda Chardonnay. A testimony to the greatness of Argentina’s best, most site-specific terroirs and a genuine example of superb value in the fine wine category. Tasting it in the office it was a real standout even in an exceptional lineup.

Just one of the reasons we’re so excited to have teamed up with Bodega Lagarde. A wine that demands to be on the radars of lovers of exceptional Chardonnay.