Written by: Krešimir Kožić, Vinski klub
In mid-2018 I took part in an unforgettable blind tasting — five Chardonnays, five different countries, the same vintage (2015), and world-class names: Coche-Dury Meursault Premier Cru Caillerets, Vasse Felix Chardonnay Heytesbury, Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, Kumeu River Chardonnay Mate’s Vineyard, Catena Zapata Chardonnay White Bones.
There were six judges in all. For me, one wine immediately “jumped out” and completely bowled me over.
Pulsing minerality, complex aromatics, effortless elegance, striking intensity and a long, precise finish. That same wine was also the overall winner, with 98 points. To my great surprise, it was the Catena Zapata Chardonnay White Bones.
So who “made” the wine that outshone the hugely celebrated Coche-Dury Meursault Premier Cru Caillerets?! Alejandro Vigil…
The young Alejandro was the “enfant terrible” of his family. At 14 he left school to work at the local wine cooperative. Yet at night he studied, so as not to disappoint his family — his mother above all.
He graduated top of his class in agronomy and at 27 became head of the agricultural-soils research department at Argentina’s national agronomy institute. After that, in 2002, he became chief oenologist at the Catena Zapata winery. From then on his career has advanced at a meteoric pace.
He became the first South American winemaker to earn a prestigious 100 points from Robert Parker! He has taken that mythical 100 points many times over and become the most awarded winemaker on the continent.
Since 2009 he has also run the “Aleanna El Amigo” project together with Adriana Catena.
In many respects Alejandro is the most important oenologist of the New World. He has devoted his life to understanding Argentina’s local terroirs, their interaction with particular grape varieties, and the greater whole that all of this creates.
He is a great advocate of organic and biodynamic viticultural principles and of a low-intervention approach in the cellar, where in his own words he “merely steers the wine in the right direction.” Understanding terroir, he holds, is the key to making wine.
He is not afraid to experiment when it makes sense — he macerates Torrontés for 14 days in amphora, and for Chardonnay and Sémillon he uses the “under flor” technique.
The result is wines that are not merely technically flawless — they are personal, authentic and instantly recognisable.
His wines are exceptionally personal and rank among the very best coming out of Catena Zapata, as well as those from El Enemigo.
On every back label stands the sentence: “At the end of the journey, we remember only one battle: the one we fought against ourselves – the original enemy, the one that defined us.”
That philosophy describes Vigil perfectly — a ceaseless pursuit of a better, deeper, more honest wine.
For him, wine is “a liquid time machine that stirs the emotions.”
Among wines from the rest of the world, Alejandro greatly values classic Barolo, traditional Rioja, fine Burgundy and Riesling. Of late he has been intrigued by the Garnacha variety, which has resulted in several exceptional wines under the El Enemigo label as well as a new project in Spain called El Reventón.
Alejandro is also co-owner of the Casa Vigil restaurant in his native Mendoza, which holds one Michelin star. He lives a quiet family life on the edge of the city, loves jazz and philosophy — and it is precisely that combination of intellect, sensibility and passion that comes through so clearly in his wines.
The most important wines we would certainly recommend you try: Catena Zapata Chardonnay White Bones, Catena Zapata Chardonnay White Stones, Malbec River, Birth of Cabernet, El Enemigo Gran Enemigo, El Enemigo Torrontés, El Enemigo Semillon, El Enemigo Malbec As Bravas, El Enemigo Bonarda La Esperanza.
All eight of these wines are truly impressive, but you can’t go wrong with anything from Catena Zapata, El Enemigo and El Reventón.
Because, as Alejandro himself says: “If I were a wine, my back label would read that you are drinking a small part of my soul, a little of Mendoza, and a great deal of my life’s experience.”
And that is exactly why his wines are not merely outstanding. They are — personal.
