Chivite

The story

Claudio's Cart Fleet

In 1860 Claudio Chivite developed trade with Bordeaux and Bayonne. He transported the wine in twelve galeras, large four wheeled carts also known as aceleradas. The carts formed a relay style fleet. Claudio Chivite used that fleet to move wine in the export trade he had developed with Bordeaux and Bayonne. Wine moved by cart, and the cart itself had two names. The fleet numbered twelve large four wheeled galeras.

From the atlas

Chivite

Navarra producer Chivite, based in Villatuerta and rooted in Finca Legardeta, makes Colección 125 wines and varietal Chardonnay, Syrah and Grenache.

At A Glance

The Producer

Chivite works from Villatuerta in Navarra, with a family tradition that spans eleven generations. Its wines reach from Colección 125 to varietal Chardonnay, Syrah and Grenache from Finca Legardeta. The company presents Colección 125, Chivite Legardeta Range and Chivite Las Fincas Range as its named lines.

Colección 125 includes both red and white wines. The Legardeta wines come from the estate's vineyards and keep each grape variety separate in the bottle.

Place

Finca Legardeta lies on Montejurra's slopes in Navarra's Tierra Estella subzone, north of Rioja's vineyards. The nearby Ega River reduces frost risk and summer heat, while the setting receives higher rainfall than Rioja.

The soils are predominantly sandstone with clay limestone soils. Chivite grows Chardonnay, Syrah and Grenache there as varietal wines, linking the estate's northern setting to separate grape led bottles.

Story

Before Catalan wine group Perelada bought the company in 2017, Chivite had separated the J. Chivite Family Estates portfolio from Bodegas Gran Feudo. Gran Feudo focused on more commercial, high volume wines such as its flagship rosé, while J. Chivite Family Estates became the umbrella for the other range.

Perelada's purchase followed that division. The company's portfolio had already been separated into wines with different commercial roles before the change of ownership.

Vineyards And Cellar

Colección 125 Reserva is hand harvested, sorted, gravity fed into stainless steel vats, gently extracted by manual pumping over, and aged in French oak for 15 to 18 months after malolactic fermentation.

Legardeta Chardonnay ferments in stainless steel or French oak and remains on its lees for about five months. Lees ageing keeps fine yeast solids in contact with the wine, a practice that can add creaminess and fuller texture.

Wines

Chivite's current lineup presents three named ranges: Colección 125, Chivite Legardeta Range and Chivite Las Fincas Range. Colección 125 contains the red Vino de Guarda and the white Blanco.

The Legardeta range is a varietal line of Chardonnay, Syrah and Grenache from Finca Legardeta. Chardonnay appears in both Colección 125 and Legardeta, with Colección 125 Blanco from Las Mercedes and Legardeta Chardonnay from Finca Legardeta.

In The Glass

Colección 125 Blanco 2023 gives biscuit, pastry, lemon peel and white flowers, followed by anise, menthol, fennel, smoke, herbs, exotic spice and toasted nuts. Its palate is broad and unctuous yet agile, with balanced toast, fresh acidity and a very long finish.

Vino de Guarda 2019 has blackberry, roasted oak, earth, decaying strawberry, asphalt, beetroot, dill, coniferous forest, leather and vanilla. The palate is just over medium bodied and stringent, with dark fruit, fresh acidity and balanced tannins. Dense, fine grained tannins carry through the finish.

Legardeta Syrah 2022 has blackberry, dried herbs and bay leaf, followed by fresh acidity, medium body and soft tannins. Legardeta Chardonnay in 2022 is lighter, with pear, peach, spice, cream and lees character.

A Bottle To Understand It

Open Finca Legardeta Single Vineyard Syrah first. It is 100% Syrah from Finca Legardeta, presented as a single vineyard wine within the Legardeta range. The range also includes Chardonnay and Grenache, so this bottle isolates one red grape within the estate's varietal lineup. Colección 125 is a separate named range with red and white wines.

Anecdote

In 1860 Claudio Chivite developed trade with Bordeaux and Bayonne. He transported the wine in twelve galeras, large four wheeled carts also known as aceleradas. The carts formed a relay style fleet. Claudio Chivite used that fleet to move wine in the export trade he had developed with Bordeaux and Bayonne. Wine moved by cart, and the cart itself had two names. The fleet numbered twelve large four wheeled galeras.

Final Word

Chivite makes Colección 125 wines and varietal Chardonnay, Syrah and Grenache from Finca Legardeta in Navarra, with a family tradition spanning eleven generations.

Sources

1. https://chivite.com/en/home 2. https://chivite.com/en/history 3. https://chivite.com/en/wines/coleccion-125 4. https://chivite.com/en/wines/legardeta-range 5. https://spanishwinelover.com/winerie/j-chivite-family-estates 6. https://gismondionwine.com/tasting-notes/202411/chivite-coleccin-125-single-vineyard-vino-de-guarda-2019/?date=2024-12&note=42255 7. https://www.munskankarna.se/sv/vinlocus/ordervaror-oktober-2025/chivite-coleccion-125-vino-de-guarda-2019 8. https://www.enterwine.com/es/chivite-coleccion-125-blanco-2023 9. https://www.munskankarna.se/sv/vinlocus/ordervaror-februari-2026/chivite-finca-legardeta-single-vineyard-syrah-2022 10. https://gismondionwine.com/tasting-notes/202407/