Jean Marc Roulot was at dinner at Guillaume d’Angerville’s place with their friend Piero, the founder of Argentina's culty Chacra winery. Piero mentioned, while discussing his Patagonian terroir, his desire to try making a white... Read More

Jean Marc Roulot was at dinner at Guillaume d’Angerville’s place with their friend Piero, the founder of Argentina's culty Chacra winery. Piero mentioned, while discussing his Patagonian terroir, his desire to try making a white cuvée in Argentina.

Now, Roulot is one of the best Chardonnay growers on the planet, so he’d be a good guy to chat up about making white wines of terroir. But he doesn’t seem a likely candidate to jet off to Patagonia and start making Argentinian Chardonnay.

But Piero had found a unique terroir in Patagonia and Roulot was intrigued. Intrigued enough to propose working with him, and when Roulot visited he found, in his words, a “magical place” where “nature is so strong.” This was an opportunity to do something new: work with a friend, “not trying to make a copy of Burgundy in Argentina—totally different. Trying to produce a good Chardonnay in Argentina.”

And that’s what they’ve done. Piero’s magical terroir and Roulot’s Chardonnay touch come together to make an amazing, totally new white wine. The Chacra Mainque Chardonnay comes from three plots with sand over mineral soils with river rocks and limestone. Desert-like weather (hot days, cold nights) make ripe fruit with good acidity.