Santa Rita Floresta Chardonnay 2022

This cuvée comes from Santa Rita's vineyard in the Limarí Valley, in northern Chile, in the Punitaqui sector. The plots were selected in the areas richest in calcium carbonate, on alluvial clay-silt soils mixed with stones. Located some thirty kilometres from the coast, the vineyard benefits from the cool influence of the Pacific while remaining warm enough to ripen the grapes fully, in a landscape on the edge of the desert.

The grapes are fermented with their native yeasts in stainless-steel tanks. The wine is then aged for around eight months in French oak barrels, 25% of them new, with regular stirring of the lees (bâtonnage) that brings roundness and texture while preserving its freshness.

This wine reveals notes of lemon, grapefruit, pear, pineapple, mango, fresh herbs, honey and hazelnut. Citrus and white fruit mingle with exotic and herbaceous touches. The round, succulent palate is creamy, carried by delicate acidity and a saline finish characteristic of Limarí Chardonnays.

It was Hernán Cortés who ordered the cultivation of vines upon the conquest of Mexico in 1524. It gradually spread from Mexico southward, reaching Chile in 1555. During the first three centuries of colonization, only país, a characterless and very productive black grape variety, was cultivated in Chile. It was not until the mid-19th century that noble varieties were introduced: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay, mainly. Twenty years later, winemaking was modernized under the impetus of wealthy landowners and French experts who had been forced out of work by phylloxera in Europe. Chile stretches 4,300 kilometers from north to south. It is sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Andes Mountains to the east, the Atacama Desert to the north, and the Patagonian plains and glaciers to the south. These natural barriers prevented phylloxera from entering the country. Although the country is only 160 kilometers wide, it enjoys ideal conditions for growing grape varieties from warm, intermediate, and cool regions, so much so that it is often described as a vineyard paradise. With nearly 300 estates producing bottled wines, Chile ranks between 6th and 8th in the world.