Errázuriz Aconcagua Costa "Las Pizarras" Chardonnay 2014

<div class="ds-message _63c77b1"> <div class="ds-markdown"> <p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">This Chardonnay is a sibling to the Pinot Noir, born from the same obsessive site selection.</p> <ul> <li> <p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Philosophy &amp; Name:</strong>&nbsp;Identical to the Pinot Noir.&nbsp;<strong>"Las Pizarras"</strong>&nbsp;refers to the&nbsp;<strong>dominant slate (<em>pizarra</em>) and schist soils</strong>. The goal is to produce a Chardonnay where&nbsp;<strong>pronounced minerality, tension, and salinity</strong>&nbsp;are the headline features, not overt fruit or oak.</p> </li> <li> <p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>The Vineyard:</strong>&nbsp;The same&nbsp;<strong>Aconcagua Costa</strong>&nbsp;estate. The Chardonnay blocks are carefully selected for the poorest, most stone-rich soils. The extreme&nbsp;<strong>cool coastal climate</strong>&nbsp;(fog, breezes, low temps) is even more critical for Chardonnay, preserving searing acidity and slow flavor development.</p> </li> <li> <p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>The Winemaking (Minimalist &amp; Precision):</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Harvest:</strong>&nbsp;Very late (often April in Chile), one of the latest in the hemisphere, for maximal physiological ripeness at low sugar levels.</p> </li> <li> <p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Fermentation:</strong>&nbsp;100% native yeast, primarily in&nbsp;<strong>large, neutral oak foudres</strong>&nbsp;and a portion in concrete eggs. This avoids toast flavor, focusing on texture and minerality.</p> </li> <li> <p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Aging:</strong>&nbsp;Sur&nbsp;<em>lie</em>&nbsp;aging for 14-16 months, with minimal batonnage (stirring) to emphasize purity and linearity over creaminess.</p> </li> <li> <p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Malolactic Fermentation:</strong>&nbsp;Partially blocked to retain vibrant, natural acidity.</p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Style &amp; Significance:</strong>&nbsp;This is a&nbsp;<strong>Chablis Grand Cru-level statement</strong>&nbsp;from Chile. It is known for its&nbsp;<strong>electric acidity</strong>, intense aromas of wet stone, lemon zest, white pear, and a subtle saline, oyster shell character. The texture is powerful yet precise, with no perception of heaviness.</p> </li> <li> <p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Debut &amp; Critical Acclaim:</strong>&nbsp;Like the Pinot Noir, the first commercial vintage was&nbsp;<strong>2016</strong>. It was met with immediate astonishment, receiving high 90s and 100-point scores from critics like James Suckling. It successfully challenged the global paradigm for New World Chardonnay, proving Chile can produce world-class, age-worthy, cool-climate whites.</p> </li> </ul> <p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>In summary, the "Las Pizarras" Chardonnay is the purest expression of Err&aacute;zuriz's coastal terroir mission. It is a radical, mineral-driven wine that redefined the potential of Chilean Chardonnay through a combination of visionary site selection and uncompromising, non-interventionist winemaking.</strong></p> </div> </div>

I cannot think of any commercial Chardonnay on slate, so I was really curious to taste this new 2014 Aconcagua Costa "Las Pizarras" Chardonnay, which was sourced from the cool, coastal part of the Aconcagua Valley. They selected the fruit from the vines growing on slate-rich (schist) soils in their Manzanar vineyard. The whole clusters were pressed and the juice was left to settle for some 24 hours before it was put into French oak barrels to ferment with indigenous yeasts; 20% of the barrels were new, 50% were second use and the rest quite neutral, three-year-old ones. Sixty percent of the volume went through malolactic fermentation. The wine matured in barrique for 14 months before bottling. In an ideal world, this would be the 1er Cru, the Aconcagua Costa would be the village, and one day they should identify their Grand Cru. The profile is austere and there is nothing tropical; there's not a lot of fruit and in fact, there are more aromas of nuts, spices and definitively something earthy, mineral, marine -- almost saline -- with a low pH, marked acidity and restrained alcohol. The palate is terribly tasty and very dry; it really makes you salivate in a way that made me think of a Chablis (and oysters!). Groundbreaking marine and slate Chardonnay, bravo! I'd love to see this wine in ten years. 2,410 bottles produced. - (Wine Advocate)

Aroma 香氣

Grape Variety 葡萄品種 Chardonnay 100%

Rice Variety 酒米品種

Variety 品種

Cuisine 菜式

Food Pairings 食物配搭