# Phos Pét-Nat Chardonnay (2025)

- **Producer:** Alma 4
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** sparkling
- **Grapes:** Chardonnay
- **Region:** Mendoza, Argentina
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 12.2%
- **Average price:** €15
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 6–8 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** blossom, orange, apple, pear, peach, bread, toast, biscuit, marmalade, honey, almond

## About this wine

Alma 4 is an artisanal sparkling wine project founded in 1998 by four high school friends: Sebastián Zuccardi, Agustín Lopez, Mauricio Castro, and Marcela Manini. Meeting at age 17 in Mendoza, they began with just 300 bottles. The name 'Phos' is the ancient Greek word for light, capturing the raw transparency of tasting fresh wine straight from the fermentation tanks. Each vintage features a completely unique label sourced from retro 1990s personal slides from the decade the founders met. Because slides require light to project, the label serves as a snapshot of time illuminated in a bottle, always depicting four distinct elements to honor their partnership.

## Interesting facts

- Phos is the ancient Greek word for light, reflecting the raw transparency of tasting fresh wine straight from the fermentation tanks.
- Each vintage features a unique label sourced from retro 1990s personal slides, always depicting four elements to honor the four founders.
- The founders met at age 17 in agricultural high school and started Alma 4 in 1998 with a production of just 300 bottles.

## Food pairing

This Pét-Nat behaves similarly to a Belgian wheat beer due to its yeasty, unfiltered nature and bright acidity. It pairs beautifully with creamy cheeses that need cutting through, fresh herbs, and fried foods where the crisp carbonation cleanses the palate.

## Wine making process

Crafted using the Méthode Ancestrale (Pétillant Naturel). The Chardonnay grapes are hand-harvested early to preserve high natural acidity. Primary fermentation begins in temperature-controlled tanks without malolactic fermentation. Once the fermenting juice reaches approximately 15 g/l of residual sugar, it is bottled under a crown cap. The single fermentation finishes inside the bottle, trapping the natural carbonation. The wine is aged on its lees and left completely unfiltered and unfined, resulting in a naturally cloudy appearance with yeast sediment.