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Errazuriz
Aconcagua Costa Chardonnay
2016
4.0
Region
Chile › Aconcagua › Aconcagua Valley › DO Aconcagua Costa
Type
white · still
Grapes
Chardonnay
Alcohol
13%
Volume
750 mL
Sugar
1.59 g/L
Tasting Notes(1)
4.0
This was strange for sure. Of course, after Jacky Blot it was a vulgar pile of oak. This is a sacrifice I made consciously to pave the road for PYCM. Anyways. In the beginning, it's restrained. The bouquet is dominated by butter and vanilla. But then it opens up with pears, grapefruit, and lemon zest. A bit smokey. Then round, intense, and citrusy. Good fruit, good acidity, good structure. Moderately complex. Nice bitterness.
About
The grapes for Aconcagua Costa Chardonnay are sourced from the Aconcagua Costa vineyard, planted by Viña Errázuriz in 2005 and 2009. The soil is composed of a thin layer of loamy texture and placed on a base of clay and metamorphic rock (slate/schist).
Grapes were handpicked in the early morning between March 1st and 4th in small boxes and carefully transported to the winery, where they were whole-cluster pressed and cold decanted in stainless steel tanks. The juice is then placed into used French oak barrels for fermentation, lasting 15 to 20 days. Errázuriz uses a mix of indigenous yeasts along with a number of strains, reportedly for greater complexity (?). After alcoholic fermentation, the wine undergoes 50% malolactic fermentation. Then it ages for 10 months in the same oak.