2017 El Enemigo Chardonnay Mendoza Argentina 750 ml

Region, producer, price unknown: All we knew was that the lively and layered Chardonnay lingering on our palates had everything we look for in a world-class white wine. If the price was right—we had a Premier Cru-like number swirling in our heads—we’d grab all we could for Wine Access members. 

Then, we learned three facts that dazzled us just as much as the gorgeous Chardonnay: It hailed from Argentina, boasted an unfathomable perfection-pushing 98-point score… and was under $25.

You’ve never seen enthusiasm turn into urgency so quickly, and today we bring you the fruits: From visionary winemaker Alejandro Vigil (best known for his work with Catena Alta), we’ve got what might be the quality-to-price coup of the year: the 98-point El Enemigo Chardonnay for just $24. We repeat: 98 points, just $24. 

This is no flash in the pan: Alejandro Vigil is a multiple 99-point winemaker who, as chief winemaker at Catena, channeled his restless, obsessive spirit into creating a luxury brand in a region known only for bargain wines. Now, he’s moved on to challenge the best of the world—and as El Enemigo attests, he’s doing so at prices that defy belief. 

Vigil is willing to take risks in pursuit of perfection. He’s sought out extremely high-altitude growing sites—his Chardonnay vineyards in Gualtallary are nearly a mile above sea level—and he ages the Chardonnay partially under flor (thin layer of yeast) to bring deep oceanic minerality to the luscious stone fruit of the barrel-fermented wine. The results of these maverick decisions clearly speak for themselves.

The soils in Vigil’s vineyard are magnificent—a mix of stony alluvial deposits mixed with the sort of limestone you’d expect to see in Burgundy or Champagne, which preserves freshness and zest even as the fruit attains luscious ripeness. That combination of new-world richness with old-world minerality comes through in the finished wine. It’s a captivating dialectic that’s the sign of a master at work. 

We expect this kind of complexity and intensity in a 98 point wine, but we expected to pay a lot more for it. At under $30 per bottle, it’s a game-changer that no white wine fan should miss.