In 2004, Piero Incisa della Rocchetta—the grandson of the creator of the Super Tuscan legend Sassicaia—made a bold gamble.
After a transfixing encounter with a Patagonian Pinot Noir at a blind tasting, della Rocchetta traveled to the heart of Argentina—the arid Río Negro Valley of northern Patagonia—in search of opportunity. He found a dilapidated vineyard of ungrafted Pinot Noir vines planted in 1932 that was producing so little fruit, the owner tried to talk him out of buying it.
Instead, della Rocchetta made the plot the cornerstone of his new winery, Bodega Chacra, and proceeded to apply the same rigorous approach to farming and vinification that his grandfather honed in Bolgheri at Tenuta San Guido. The first vintage produced just 110 cases. Today, Bodega Chacra has ascended to become one of Patagonia’s crown jewel properties, and among the most exciting projects in the New World.
Surrounded by desert and sprinkled by only a few inches of rain a year, the winery boasts a climate that is intensely pure and dry, complementing the riverbed soils layered with sand, clay, and limestone. These pristine conditions facilitate strict biodynamic and organic farming practices that, in combination with green harvesting, make for low yields and wines of stunning complexity and wild beauty.
Single-vineyard Pinot Noirs were della Rocchetta’s original focus: the bottles typically possess a saline elegance that has often inspired comparisons to red Burgundy. The Treinta y Dos is culled from the 1932-era vineyard: a highly structured cuvée shaped by silt and clay that sees little new oak, emphasizing energy and minerality. The Barda Pinot Noir, drawn off the estate’s youngest vineyard and fermented with indigenous yeasts in concrete, is fresh and supple, blending vivid red fruit concentration with earthy undertones of sandalwood and cedar.
After bringing on Meursault dynamo Jean-Marc Roulot as an advisor, Bodega Chacra has also begun producing standouts Chardonnays from 40-year-old vines that show the signature precision, purity, and focus of Roulot’s influence.
We’re thrilled to offer this selection of Bodega Chacra wines today. Born from a hunch, a dream, and the pedigree of one of Tuscany’s great families, they are among the most singular and unique New World wines made today.
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