Adrianna Vineyard

The Adrianna vineyard, planted at almost 5,000’ elevation in the Andes foothills, lies on the westernmost border of Tupungato Alto, Mendoza, Argentina, in a small district called Gualtallary.^[1][2][3][4] It belongs to the Bodega Catena Zapata.^[5] Being the highest vineyard in Mendoza, it benefits from the cooling effect ^[1][6][7] of the Andes Mountains and intense sunlight ^[8][9] resulting from extreme high altitude.^[6] The increased sunlight intensity due to altitude translates into thicker grape skins, because the grapevine attempts to protect its seeds from the sun.^[1] Grape skins are rich in tannins and polyphenols, the flavour-giving compounds in wine, explaining why the Adrianna Vineyard's high-altitude wines are so concentrated and capable of ageing.^[1][7] Also, because of the cool mountain climate, the wines from Adrianna have a certain type of minerality ^[4][10][11] in the aromatics and palate that is not found in wines from other parts of Mendoza. The soils ^[4][12] of Catena Zapata´s Adrianna Vineyard are composed of limestone and large pebbles that make them particularly well drained; the yields are naturally low and berries are small and concentrated^[1] Adrianna is possibly the world’s most studied vineyard.^{[2][5][13][14]} The Adrianna Vineyard is well known for its single parcel Chardonnay wines White Bones and White Stones.^[4][12] and its Malbec, which have been highly reviewed by world wine publications ^{[3] [7] [15]}

Robert Parker of The Wine Advocate awarded a perfect 100-point score to the 2016 vintage of River Stones Malbec.^[16]

References