Winemaker Notes
This hand-harvested, single-vineyard wine is 100% unfiltered and unfined Chenin Blanc from Tunuyan within the Uco Valley. The Villa Seca vineyard is roughly 12 hectares, planted in 1970 at an altitude of 3,300 feet, on alluvial soils. Aged 5 months on the lees.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 JI JI JI Chenin Blanc had a short skin contact to give it texture and kept the alcohol to a moderate 12% with good acidity, clean fruit and a strong personality. The wine is very harmonious and balanced, varietal and expressive with a great nose with elegance and nuance, flowers and yellow fruit, herbs and spices. It's delicious, with a very tasty finish and almost a salty twist. Amazing value.
Rating: 92+
Unquestionably one of the most diverse grape varieties, Chenin Blanc can do it all. It shines in every style from bone dry to unctuously sweet, oaked or unoaked, still or sparkling and even as the base for fortified wines and spirits. Perhaps Chenin Blanc’s greatest asset is its ever-present acidity, maintained even under warm growing conditions. Somm Secret—Landing in South Africa in the mid 1800s, today the country has double the acreage of Chenin Blanc planted compared to France. There is also a new wave of dedicated producers committed to restoring old Chenin vines.
By far the largest and best-known winemaking province in Argentina, Mendoza is responsible for over 70% of the country’s enological output. Set in the eastern foothills of the Andes Mountains, the climate is dry and continental, presenting relatively few challenges for viticulturists during the growing season. Mendoza, divided into several distinctive sub-regions, including Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, is the source of some of the country’s finest wines.
For many wine lovers, Mendoza is practically synonymous with Malbec. Originally a Bordelaise variety brought to Argentina by the French in the mid-1800s, here it found success and renown that it never knew in its homeland where a finicky climate gives mixed results. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Pinot Noir are all widely planted here as well (and sometimes even blended with each other or Malbec). Mendoza's main white varieties include Chardonnay, Torrontés, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.