Catena Zapata 2018 White Bones Chardonnay 750ml

Bright light yellow. Tighter on the nose than the White Stones, offering pristine but subdued scents of lemon oil, dried rosemary and iodiney minerality. Some unabsorbed CO2--not to mention its 8.1 g/l acidity--is current accentuating this Chardonnay's remarkable inner-mouth grip and urgency. White orchard fruits and citrus zests and oils stain the palate without leaving any impression of weight. For all its dusty density, this extraordinary wine is remarkably light on its feet. Finishes bone-dry and saline, with terrific cut and rising length. The White Stones seems almost sweet by comparison to this wine--and it's not!. A stunning pair of Chardonnays, perhaps the best to date, from Catena's high-altitude Adrianna Vineyard in Gualtallary, which the firm purchased in 1992 (and planted between 1994 and 1997) at a time when few wine farmers thought they could consistently ripen grapes there. Neither of these wines saw any new oak, as winemaker Vigil used only second-, third- and fourth-use French barrels.

Score: 96+ points -- Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, 2019