Winemaker Notes
Sauvignon Blanc, a varietal with great personality, fully expresses its potential in certain winemaking areas, the best known being the Loire Valley in France, Marlborough in New Zealand, and the Friuli region of Italy. In more recent times, the coastal area of the Leyda in Chile has proven to be a world-class region for Sauvignon Blanc. Albaclara shows great varietal character offering a luminous light-yellow color. The nose is intense and vibrant with notes of citrus and herbs with excellent freshness created by the coastal region where it’s grown. The palate is persistent with notes of mint and citrus fruit sustained by great acidity.
Great enjoyed on its own or with spicy Thai or Indian dishes, as well as shellfish and oysters.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Give this a splash in a decanter to help it shed some of its youthfully green capsicum character and it turns toward fleshy notes of aloe, with a saline bitterness in the end. Executive Editor Tara Q. Thomas suggested serving it with stuffed green peppers.
Haras de Pirque is located in the easternmost part of the Maipo Province, at the foothills of central Chile’s mountain range. This area enjoys extremely favorable climatic and geographic conditions and is well-known for producing high quality wines. The vineyards that surround the estate are bordered by a thoroughbred racetrack and the winery was built in the shape of a traditional horseshoe. The vineyards grow at an altitude of 550 to 650 meters (1804-2132 feet) above sea level, south of the Maipo River on the lower slopes of the Andes’ foothills. In the lower area, the soil is rich in clay while the upper area is rocky. The Andes Mountains and its vicinity to the Pacific Ocean influence the region’s climate: summers are hot and dry but are mitigated by humid ocean air and cool nights. The estate’s vineyards are planted to international varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc) that are able to find a new expression in this territory, as well as to local varieties such as Carménère – one of the most authentic Chilean grape varieties. Haras de Pirque represents Marchesi Antinori’s desire to produce high quality organic wines that express Chile’s winemaking potential while promoting the Maipo Valley’s extraordinary terroir.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
The Maipo Valley is Chile’s most famous wine region. Set in the country’s Central Valley, it is warm and quite dry, often necessitating the use of irrigation. Alluvial soils predominate but are supplemented with loam and clay.
The climate in Maipo is best-suited for ripe, full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon (the region’s most widely planted grape), Merlot, Syrah and Carmenère, a Bordeaux variety that has found a successful home in Chile.
White wines are also produced with great prosperity, especially near the cooler coast, include Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.