Yes, it’s another wine from Chile. I know I’ve reviewed several Chilean wines recently, but I wanted to add another white wine to the list. I went with a Chardonnay, since I’ve also been wanting to get a Chardonnay from somewhere other than California.
It’s time for the tasting. The bottle is chilled and ready to pour.
I always share the wine with my wife, and we generally start out with a small amount in the glass for our initial smell and taste. It’s a fun bit of ceremony that we enjoy.
Right away, we both said that it smells like Riesling. There’s definitely honey on the nose, along with some brighter lemon notes.
It’s a bit tingly on the tongue, as if it has a slight hint of carbonation, but I think it is from the acidity and some mineral notes. There also citrus, some floral, honey, toasty oak, with butter on the finish.
There’s a nice complexity here, and a nice, fragrant nose. Even though there are some “sweet” aromas and flavors, this is a dry wine, with 14.1% ABV.
The winemaking notes describe the 2008 vintage as being perfect for their Chardonnay. 70% of the wine was fermented in stainless steel tanks, while the remaining 30% was fermented and aged in oak for 8 months. No malolactic fermentation was persued.
The combination of stainless and oak preserves much of the bright, fresh flavors of the Chardonnay while adding some oak influences.
Once again, I’m very impressed with a Chilean wine. This gets the “Excellent” rating.
