We love, love, love the wines of Catena here! So much so that Dr. Laura Catena was our guest recently at our most popular online tasting to date. The wines we feature again and again from them are our #1 most admired from the Southern hemisphere and up there in our rankings around the world even!

This special relationship comes with its perks. Here they are. Access, at unbelievable, unbeatable prices, to their ultra-rare, tiny production Parcelas Series. These are not your average Chardonnays as they consistently are regarded as some of the best globally.

In fact, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate has often compared them to the top wines of Burgundy’s most heralded Domaines, calling White Stones “more in the style of Roulot than Coche-Dury” and White Bones “a hypothetical blend of a Chablis from Raveneau and a Chassagne from Ramonet.”

Mind you, current vintages from these legends can easily exceed the $1,000 mark.

And we can bring you here these monstrously rated gems way under $100? Just unheard of. A handful of bottles allocated, first come, first …just a second… sorry, went to sweep a couple under our carpet, where were we again? Oh yes, first served. Like we did, do make sure you get some of both to compare side by side, there is no tasting quite like it.

99 Points – James Suckling

“This is really incredible now. Cooked apples, mustard flowers, minerals and hints of stone. Full-bodied yet vivid and expansive with lightness and energy on the palate. Eye-opening acidity. It goes on for minutes. A great white, as always. Drink or hold.”

96+ Points – Antonio Galloni’s Vinous

“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. Drink 2021-2029.”

96 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

“The nose of the 2017 White Bones Chardonnay jumps out of the glass with its forward personality and its balsamic aromas that mix aromatic herbs and a minty touch. It’s more exuberant than the 2018 or any of the White Stones I tasted next to it. The flavors are intense and pungent, with volume and length. The vines are organically farmed, which is not easy in the zone, mainly because of the ants! That has a great effect in the yields, which are reduced, and the juice is very concentrated but shows superb balance. As with the others, this is more in the style of the 2015, whereas the 2018 follows the path of the 2016. Drink 2019-2026.”