Wine Description
100% Chardonnay from estate vineyards in the Leyda Valley. Falaris Hill Vineyard is a small block located on a southeastern facing slope, with a particularly low fertility to the soil. To maximize fruit quality, it is further managed to keep yields low, about 2.4 to 2.8 tons per acre. The grapes were hand harvested. After a gentle whole cluster pressing, the juice was chilled down to 46ºF and gravity clarified. The must was fermented with several yeasts in French oak barrels, ¼ of them new. After fermentation, 90% of the juice was sulphated in order to avoid malolactic fermentation and to keep the natural acidity of the wine. The remaining 10% underwent malolactic fermentation. Battonage was carried out twice a week during the 8 months that the wine was in barrels, to ensure the perfect integration of fruit and oak aromas and flavors.
Tasting Notes
Fine and integrated oak notes add complexity to the nose. Ripe citrus character like lemons and tangerines combine with wheat aromas and mineral notes. Fresh and dense in the mouth, this wine has a creamy texture in the mid-palate and a lively acidity further back, where the minerality stands up and provides freshness and length.
Reviews
International Wine Cellar - Issue #143/March-April 2009
The Best New Wines from Chile
“Light yellow. Baking spices, pear and orange on the nose. Tangy and sharply focused, offering fresh citrus and apple flavors and a late jolt of white pepper….”
88 points
Wine Advocate - Issue #179/October 31, 2008
“The 2007 Chardonnay Falaris Hill Vineyard reveals some toasty oak notes, an amalgam of white fruits, lively acidity, and surprising depth and length for its humble price.”
88 points
