Errázuriz Sauvignon Blanc Estate 2024

This Sauvignon Blanc comes from the Aconcagua Valley, north of Santiago, Errázuriz's home since 1870. The grapes come from plots between 100 and 300 metres above sea level, on alluvial soils. The areas close to the Pacific Ocean, cooled by sea breezes and morning mists, give the Sauvignon Blanc slow ripening that preserves its acidity and aromatic brightness.

After the harvest, the grapes are vinified in stainless-steel tanks to preserve the purity and freshness of the variety. The wine is then aged for three months on its lees in stainless-steel tanks. This short ageing on the lees brings a little texture and length on the palate, with no oak at all that might mask the fruit.

This wine reveals notes of lemon, clementine, fresh grass, passion fruit, pineapple, grapefruit, tomato leaf and elderflower. The yellow colour with green glints precedes a palate with refreshing acidity, clean and thirst-quenching, which lingers with lovely length and citrus accents.

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.