At a post-work tasting tonight I discovered the breadth of an Italian winemaker. Piero Incisa della Rocchetta of the Italian winemaking family that owns Tuscany’s Tenuta San Guido (Sassicaia), is growing pinot noir in the Patagonia region in the Rio Negro Valley of Argentina. della Rocchetta purchased the land in 2004 and I believe the 2006 was the debut vintage. 
Tonight we tasted the 2008 vintage of both the Bodega Chacra Cincuenta y Cinco and the Bodega Chacra Barda. The Chacra vineyard of pinot noir vines is planted on their own rootstocks, is head trained and produces tiny bunches of small, concentrated berries. There is a fourth vineyard that was planted and is the basis for the Barda wine, together with deselected grapes and wines from single vineyard plots.
The gravels and coarse alluvial pebbles, which have significant limestone content in the soils, and the fresh, dry climate, allow for minimum treatment in the vineyard and biodynamic practices. Together with green harvest, the production yields are kept very low.
The Chacra exhibits deep red fruits of strawberry with some spice and clove, and has a medium body. It retails for around $80. It can definitely benefit from a few years in the bottle.
The Barda is light to medium bodied, lighter in color than the Cincuenta y Cinco and sells for around $25. It is a fantastic everyday drinking pinot.
Often when we think of Argentina today thoughts of malbec are conjured up. However, the country has been producing wine since the 1500s, and traces origins to Spain, France and even Italy.
Italian immigration is second only to Spanish in Argentine culture, and the flavors of Italy show up strongly in the nation’s wine, food and cultural tradition. Historically, Argentina wine has been kept for local consumption. Only recently has more of the wine been exported, with Malbec leading the drive.
Perhaps della Rocchetta through Bodega Chacra can show the depth of Argentina’s wine production and its capabilities to produce some notable New World pinot.
krista2000.wordpress.com 