Lafken Riesling 2013
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After graduating from The University of Burgundy, France, Miguel spent 10 years working on vineyards throughout France and Germany. In 2010, he returned to Chile with his family to pursue a life-long dream of producing his own wines- combining his European winemaking style with Chile’s new world terroir. At Lafken, they produce limited quantities of hand-crafted wines, with their families participating in the entire process. They strongly believe that winemaking must be clean and in harmony with the environment, and their commitment to quality is the trademark without which they simply wouldn't be making wine. The identity of their wines is a result of their premium grapes, the sustainable management of the vineyards, their hand harvesting at the optimal moment of grape maturity, and their personal winemaking – which takes place in a small garage, combining both traditional methods and modern technology.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
A region that has become synonymous with some of the best whites of Chile, the Casablanca Valley is full of dozens of bodegas who either grow fruit here or come from outside to source from local growers for their own white wine programs. The valley runs from east to west, which means that its westernmost vineyards receive the most cooling influence from the reliable afternoon sea breezes. The soils also tend to be heavier in clay in the west, whereas the eastern end of the valley is warmer and its soils are predominantly granitic. Sauvignon blanc thrives here, Chardonnay does well and Pinot noir is not uncommon.