Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Errazuriz is doing an outstanding job with Chardonnay and is now undoubtedly a leading name on the world stage. This is a style that wears its oak on its sleeve but in a stylish way, with toasted-nut and clotted-cream aromas leading into a complex but refreshing palate and an energetic, revitalising finish.
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James Suckling
Aromas of cooked apples and pie crust and floral undertones make for a ripe nose. Full and soft on the palate with plenty of fleshy stone fruit, but the crunchy acidity carries this through to a driven finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Luis Gutiérrez Issue Date 31st Oct 2018 Source 239, The Wine Advocate The first Chardonnay I tasted from Errázuriz, the 2017 Max Reserva Chardonnay has moderate alcohol and high acidity, produced in an austere, mineral and fresh style. It fermented in oak barrels, with some 30% of the volume going through malolactic, and then it matured in barriques for 11 months. I was really impressed by this wine, which set the pace for the style of the 2017s. It was a warm year, and they managed to take advantage of that to get their fruit to ripen early by controlling yields, and they think they really got the harvesting dates right. The wines are sharp and fresh, unlike the general character of the year. They didn't have any influence from the terrible fires that decimated the country. In fact, in Aconcagua Costa 2016 was slightly warmer than 2017. This has the pure and fresh style they are getting famous for—crisp, with integrated oak, transparency, verticality and minerality on a vibrant and focused palate. Great Chardonnay at a great price.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
The Aconcagua River runs east from the charming costal town of Valparaiso and bisects the land creating the valley after which it was named. While alluvial soils predominate the Aconcagua Valey along its river throughout, its east-west flow creates drastically different conditions on each of its ends. Its western, seaside vineyards, with clay and stony soils upon gently rolling hills, produce cool-climate varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Its inner region is one of Chile’s hottest and produces some of its best red wines. Panquehue in the inner Aconcagua is the site of Chile’s first Syrah vines, planted in 1993.