Bodega Chacra’s Pinot Noir “Sin Azufre” is a triumph of “natural” winemaking, a testament to the beauty possible when a great producer makes a wine from perfect grapes and nothing else. But that’s not the reason we decided to offer it today. When we tasted the Chacra lineup, a stable amounting to the greatest collection of Pinot Noir in Argentina, if not the entire Southern Hemisphere, it was “Sin Azufre” that wowed us the most. Wildly lifted berry aromatics, incisive spice, and thrumming minerality combine for Pinot singing with vibrant New World fruit, but structured like an Old World touchstone. Best to think of it as one of the world’s best Pinots first, and one of the world’s best “zero-sulfur” wines second. Considering the Pinot bottlings it performs similarly to—Premier Cru Burgundy and the Willamette’s biggest names—it’s also one heck of a value. So natural wine lovers and Pinot lovers alike: Load up!
What makes the greatness of Chacra’s Pinots most unexpected is that the bodega is located in a virtual no-man’s land. You’ll find it in the Rio Negro Valley, at the northen end of Patagonia. The region as a whole straddles the Argentina/Chile border and is marked by extreme elevations and a very dry climate. There’s little disease pressure here; the climate is so isolated and so dry that phylloxera has never made inroads, and most vineyards can go entire growing seasons without being sprayed. The soils here are a mix of limestone, sand, and clay, perfect for retaining tension in the face of Patagonia’s distinctly sunny weather. But Chacra pushes things further. Their Pinot holdings center around two plots of ungrafted vines, planted in 1932 and 1955. Distinctions like “Old World” and “New World” are blurred at Chacra. While it’s geographically the New World, the Pinot plantings here are older than you’ll find just about anywhere in Europe.
How such viticultural treasures were even found is a bit of a mystery, but it seems such vision is in Chacra’s blood. The estate is owned and run by Piero Incisa della Rocchetta. He’s the grandson of Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, founder of Italy’s Tenuta San Guido (producer of iconic “super Tuscan” Sassicaia). Piero’s work beautifully mirrors his grandfather’s. While Mario is most often remembered for creating the first Cabernet-based blend in Tuscany, his real contribution was legitimizing Bolgheri as a great winemaking region. Dozens of great producers have followed in Mario’s footsteps. Piero purchased Chacra in 2004 and only began releasing wine from it after nearly a decade of vineyard rehab. From the get-go, these wines demanded attention from serious Pinot lovers. Don’t be surprised if in the coming years, we see a wave of thrilling Patagonian wines.
“Sin Azufre” is sourced from a single parcel in Chacra’s 1955-planted vineyard. It was fermented with whole clusters and aged in a mix of concrete, neutral barrel, and a small portion of amphorae. At no point in the winemaking was anything added to it: no yeast, no enzymes, no sulfur. This wine is nothing more than perfect fruit lovingly shepherded into a bottle. And while it offers a whole lot of upfront charm, I recommend settling in for an evening with “Sin Azufre” to be able to watch it evolve over the course of a few hours. On first pour, it opens with a rush of red and purple berries—black raspberry, cherry pit, crushed red raspberries, a hint of blackcurrant—underpinned by a cedary spice and savor. With time, more earth-driven aromatics unfold—fallen leaves and hot rocks alongside tobacco leaves. The palate immediately wows with a deep purity of that dark fruit before you’re reminded just how serious a wine this is with a rigorous backbone of acid structure and mouth coating but very fine tannin. Serve this alongside anything you would with Premier Cru red Burgundy, some game bird or wild mushrooms, and you’re in for a great night. Every Pinot lover is going to be opening this any chance they get, so be sure to go deep!
