This is a distinctive Chardonnay from the extreme wine region of the coastal Huasco Valley, on the border of the famous Atacama Desert in northern Chile. This is a semi-arid land of cacti, though it's known as the "garden of Atacama" for the old olive trees and vines for Pisco production. It's an appropriate place for Ventisquero to make their small-production, low intervention line of wines.
To make this bottling, the grapes are foot crushed and fermented with native yeast, and aged only in stainless steel. Stirring the sediment and not letting the wine settle too much allows them to bottle with the fine lees, offering a bit of built-in protection for the wine. But this also gives it a cloudy appearance. Letting the wine open in the glass, the struck flint aromas move into a stony character, with the fruit ranging from crisply ripe apple & nectarine to plump citrus. Mid-bodied, with a soft mid-palate, and the acidity firmly underscoring the juicy fruit, driving it into the lengthy finish. The toasty nut quality comes from the fine lees, as they block malolactic fermentation from occurring (no buttery or oaky Chardonnay here!).
TIM ATKIN MW 96 POINTS - "[13%] A wine that always stands out in a blind tasting - and for the best possible reasons - this Huasco Chardonnay is one of the most distinctive whites in Chile. Waxy and chalky, with notes of citrus, green fig and sourdough bread, nuanced oak and a long, salty, pithy finish."
WINE ADVOCATE 95 POINTS - "The 2021 White Wine 1 Chardonnay comes from vines planted in 2007; the full clusters were pressed, and the juice fermented in stainless steel barrels with indigenous yeasts and matured in 50% concrete eggs and 50% in untoasted oak foudres for 20 months. It has 13% alcohol and vibrant acidity (7.42 grams and a pH of 3.15). It has a faint medicinal and balsamic twist, aromas of fresh grapes, pollen and herbs and is different, complex and elegant. The palate reveals a rare combination of juiciness and austerity, with very pure flavors, depth and layers, finishing dry and long. 11,306 bottles were filled unfined and unfiltered in February 2023."
To make this bottling, the grapes are foot crushed and fermented with native yeast, and aged only in stainless steel. Stirring the sediment and not letting the wine settle too much allows them to bottle with the fine lees, offering a bit of built-in protection for the wine. But this also gives it a cloudy appearance. Letting the wine open in the glass, the struck flint aromas move into a stony character, with the fruit ranging from crisply ripe apple & nectarine to plump citrus. Mid-bodied, with a soft mid-palate, and the acidity firmly underscoring the juicy fruit, driving it into the lengthy finish. The toasty nut quality comes from the fine lees, as they block malolactic fermentation from occurring (no buttery or oaky Chardonnay here!).
TIM ATKIN MW 96 POINTS - "[13%] A wine that always stands out in a blind tasting - and for the best possible reasons - this Huasco Chardonnay is one of the most distinctive whites in Chile. Waxy and chalky, with notes of citrus, green fig and sourdough bread, nuanced oak and a long, salty, pithy finish."
WINE ADVOCATE 95 POINTS - "The 2021 White Wine 1 Chardonnay comes from vines planted in 2007; the full clusters were pressed, and the juice fermented in stainless steel barrels with indigenous yeasts and matured in 50% concrete eggs and 50% in untoasted oak foudres for 20 months. It has 13% alcohol and vibrant acidity (7.42 grams and a pH of 3.15). It has a faint medicinal and balsamic twist, aromas of fresh grapes, pollen and herbs and is different, complex and elegant. The palate reveals a rare combination of juiciness and austerity, with very pure flavors, depth and layers, finishing dry and long. 11,306 bottles were filled unfined and unfiltered in February 2023."
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