2015 Errazuriz, Las Pizarras, Chardonnay, Aconcagua Costa, Chile
Critics reviews
Luis Gutirrez - 28/04/2017
About this WINE
Errazuriz
Vina Errazuriz was established by Don Maximiano Errazuriz in 1870 and today the company is run by his descendent, Eduardo Chadwick. The company has four separate estates, with its original estate and spiritual heartland being in the Panquehue sub-region of the Aconcagua Valley. Here the vines benefit from the cool and rainy winters, as well as the warm summers. Most importantly, the majority of the vineyards are situated on slopes, which ensures that the grapes reach optimum ripeness.
Californian winemaker Ed Flaherty joined in 1997 and he has taken the wines to new heights, largely through fine-tuning vineyard practices and by reducing yields.
Without doubt one of the very best Chilean producers.
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or.
Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.
It is quantitatively important in California and Australia, is widely planted in Chile and South Africa, and is the second most widely planted grape in New Zealand. In warm climates Chardonnay has a tendency to develop very high sugar levels during the final stages of ripening and this can occur at the expense of acidity. Late picking is a common problem and can result in blowsy and flabby wines that lack structure and definition.
Recently in the New World, we have seen a move towards more elegant, better- balanced and less oak-driven Chardonnays, and this is to be welcomed.
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Description
On its second vintage now, the 2015 Aconcagua Costa Las Pizarras Chardonnay was sourced entirely from their Aconcagua Costa Vineyard from specific plots that have a significant component of pizarra (schist), hence the name. 2015 was a warm and dry year, but they still managed to bottle a white with 13% alcohol, a low pH of 3.1 and with almost nine grams of acidity! The figures talk about an extreme wine, yet it's wonderfully balanced and pleasant. The full clusters were pressed and the juice put to ferment with indigenous yeasts after 24 hours in French oak barrels. Only half of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation. It matured in barrique (15% new) for 12 months. This has an incredible texture and sharp, pungent acidity more often found in a Riesling than a Chardonnay and also has superb minerality and salinity. I'd be pressed to say this was not a Grand Cru Chablis if tasted blind. A world class Chardonnay from Chile. I'd love to see this wine in ten years. 3,916 bottles were filled in March 2016.
Luis Gutirrez - 28/04/2017
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