Winemaker Notes
Notes of ripe tropical fruit including papaya and pineapple, together with notes of asparagus typical of the cool-climate area of the Aconcagua Valley coast. The 12 months in barrel lend very delicate toasted notes, together with a hint of vanilla and nuts.
Highly recommended with salmon tartare, lobster, fresh shellfish, ripe cheeses, and with hot dishes such as crab gratin and mildly sauced white meats and pastas.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2021 Chardonnay Alpha hails from the Casablanca and was aged 12 month in French oak, 30% new. Yellow in hue. In the nose presents notes of creamed corn and green apple over a vanilla layer. Indulgent and creamy in the mouth, the heightened acidity chiseled a taut and refreshing lengthy finish.
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James Suckling
Textbook chardonnay with a layer of oatmeal and stones to the lemon curd and roasted pineapple character. Creamy and round with a bright streak of acidity that cuts through the generous, fleshy palate.
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.
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.