Bodega Chacra is located in the Rio Negro Valley of northern Patagonia, 620 miles south of Buenos Aires, roughly equidistant west to east from the Andes Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. The region possesses a dry and arid climate and is protected by the natural barrier of the surrounding desert. The air is pristine and without pollution, creating tremendous luminosity and purity of sunlight. The seasons are precisely defined, with hot summers, cold winters and mild springs and autumns. This consistency of climate creates a consistency of wine from vintage to vintage.

In 2004, Piero Incisa della Rocchetta, from the renowned winemaking family responsible for the creation and success of Tenuta San Guido (Sassicaia), purchased the first of vineyard land, which is now Bodega Chacra. At the time this was a property with an existing, though abandoned, vineyard planted over seventy years ago. Piero was called from his multigenerational Italian winemaking family to the southern hemisphere, compelled by the goal to produce world-class Pinot Noir from uncharted and untested territory. This singular vineyard at Bodega Chacra is of thick, pure, gnarled Pinot Noir vines, plants from their own rootstock producing tiny bunches of small, concentrated berries which are harvested by hand.

No automated mechanization is used at any stage of the production process. The grapes are refrigerated to preserve the freshness of their fruit, and then hand de-stemmed and sorted before moving to cement tanks for fermentation. Winemaking continues at Bodega Chacra in the most natural manner and the first wine vinified at the estate is “Treinta y Dos.” When the alcoholic fermentation is complete, the wine is transferred off the skins into small French oak barrels in the gentlest manner possible, by gravity, without pressing or filtering. Bottling takes place around the first week of March without fining or filtration. The objective is for the oak, the fruit and the nuances of the soil to marry perfectly so that influence of the wood is nearly imperceptible in the wine, and the vine and character of the land are expressed to their fullest. Following the acquisition of the 1932 vineyard, and preceding the 2006 vintage, Piero discovered and purchased two additional old vine Pinot Noir vineyards.

This acquisition allowed for the making of two additional Bodega Chacra wines. The first, from a vineyard planted in 1955, is referred to “Cincuenta y Cinco”. The second wine called “Barda” (“The Ridge”) is a blend of selected grapes from the single-vineyard wines coupled with grapes from a fifteen year old vineyard which is located on the original 1932 property. The Rio Negro Valley itself is a glacial bed 15.5 miles wide stretching 310 miles along the river’s banks at an elevation of 750 feet above sea level. The valley is irrigated through a network of channels excavated in the late 1820s by British colonists, who directed the abundant snow melt flowing from the Andes, creating an oasis in the middle of the desert. The climate is dry, with maximum humidity of thirty percent and an average of seven inches of annual rainfall. This aridity, coupled with the natural barrier of the surrounding desert, results in a complete absence of phylloxera and vine diseases.

During the ripening period, in the first quarter of the year, diurnal temperatures vary widely, ranging from an average of 82.4 °F (28°C) during the day to 48.2 °F (9°C) at night. The seasons are precisely defined, with hot summers, cold winters and mild springs and autumns. The soil is mainly composed by clay, sand, sediments and limestone. The conjunction of the geographical, geological and weather conditions determines the existence of a particular “terroir” in the Rio Negro Valley, unique for its characteristics and extremely appealing for growing vineyards. As a result Bodega Chacra produces concentrated and complex wines of great purity that last long in mouth and contain flavors of flowers, fruits and minerals.

Steve Tanzer made note of this distinctiveness during a tasting of the Wines of Argentina where he noted that Chacra “Treinta y Dos” contains “deep, musky aromas of black cherry, licorice, violet, spices and underbrush.” And that it is “firm and minerally in the mouth, with very primary, energetic flavors of dark fruits and spices. [“Treinta y Dos”] finishes with solid but suave tannins and excellent tangy length and lift.”  www.bodegachacra.com