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Errazuriz - Wild Ferment - Chardonnay 2016
- Producer Vina Errazuriz
- Blend 100% Chardonnay
- Country Chile
- Region Aconcagua Valley
- UPC 6 08057 00001 3
Wine
Over the last few years, Errazuriz' Chardonnay Wild Ferment has become recognized as perhaps the top Chardonnay from South America. Errazuriz ferments its best lots of Chardonnay using natural yeasts. Natural fermentation starts slower than inoculated fermentation because the yeasts must grow to sufficient numbers to transform sugars into alcohol. During this period the yeasts produce by products which add distinctive flavors and complexity to the wine.
Vintage
The vintage experienced a cool spring and a warmer than average summer. Pleasant spring days in November promoted a healthy flowering and fruit set, while warm summer months interspersed with cool morning fog, provided conditions that delivered wines of outstanding vivacity and character.
Vineyard
The grapes are sourced from the Manzanar Vineyard in the new Aconcagua Costa D.O., located just 7.5 miles from the Pacific Ocean. 70 acres of Chardonnay were planted here in 2005 using clones 548, 95, and 76, which produce different styles of grapes that increase complexity in the final blend. The vineyards are drip irrigated and trellised to vertical shoot position. The soils have a thin layer of loam texture over another layer of clay and weathered schist rock, which is responsible for the minerality found in our wines from the coastal vineyards. These unique conditions are ideal for growing cold-climate varieties such as Chardonnay.
Vinification
The grapes were hand picked during the early hours of the morning and transported to the cellar while still cool. The fruit was delicately whole-cluster pressed and the must was cold decanted in stainless steel tanks for a cleaner fermentation, which later took place in second- and third-use French oak barrels using native yeasts. Fermentation took place at 64–72 Farenheit, and approximately 50% of the final blend underwent malolactic fermentation. The wine remained on its fine lees in the same barrels for 11 months.
Estate
Don Maximiano Errazuriz founded Vina Errazuriz in 1870 in the Aconcagua Valley, 65 miles north of the capital, Santiago. Recognizing that this valley, with its hot, dry summers and moist Pacific Ocean breezes, was ideal for growing grapes, Don Maximiano sent for the finest clones from
France and with tenacity and perseverance transformed this barren land into a worldclass vineyard. Today, the tradition of quality lives on with Don Maximiano’s descendant, Eduardo Chadwick.