(2023) From the cool coastal Limari, this is fermented and aged in old French oak barriques without batonnage, but goes through full malolactic fermentation. It's a mellow, lightly buttery style, the very faintest hint of tropical fruit, but more about meally, creamy yellow apple fruit moving into apricot. A very nice finish, balanced with fresh acids and that creaminess of the malolactic.
(2021) From the edge of the Atacama dessert and one of Chile's cooler, coastal regions, Limarí, this is a gorgeously fragrant wine, with classic floral, apricot and ripe pear aromas, followed by medium-bodied palate of succulent stone fruits backed up by a juicy, ripe lemon acidity. There's a creaminess to the texture and certain silliness, but the wine stays vivid and clear into the finish.
(2021) The Limarí Valley is another relatively new, northern valley that has quickly earned a reputation for Syrah in particular. This comes from coastal vineyards composed of stony, clay soils over limestone and is aged in French oak for around 20 months, 20% new barrels. Cool, creamy and red-fruited on the nose, there's an elegance and lift to this, some violet-like notes and a buoyant character. Excellent fruit on the palate too, more on the blackcurranty spectrum now, the obvious cooler climate credentials of acidity and tension are there, smooth but firm into the finish. Price and stockist quoted is for the previous vintage at time of review.
(2020) From the genuinely cooler coastal region of Limarí, this is fermented and aged 12 months in Burgundian oak barriques. Oak aromas, however, are tempered and refined, with delicate hazelnut and honey, just a hint of toast lightly spread with lime marmalade, a more ripe and exotic fruit just hinted at on the nose. On the palate there really is a welter-weight of fruit ripeness and juicy sweetness, again that lightly toasty and spicy creaminess from the barrel, but the acid is precise and mineral, leaving this with a lip-tingling freshness against the still sweet fruit.
(2016) Richly fruited, not so much pungency but a lovely crispness and frsh apple clarity. Again this has the thrilling clarity and electric core of acidity, very long but bone dry and invigorating.
(2016) Adds a little more fragrance than the Leyda Brisas, a little more soft and briary quality, soft earthiness. There’s a nice orangy freshness to this, and it is bone dry again, with good acidity and a tart cherry freshness. Price for the 2013 vintage.
(2016) From 1600 meteres. Richness and a violet and glossy blue/black quality. The palate has a meatier quality than the Caliterra, a roughening tannin that adds grip, and a tingling spicy character. Excellent.
(2016) Lift and fragrance here, an exotic spice and Sandalwood touch, the fruit bright, touching on minitness, but with a really solid tannin framework. The palate becomes really quite grippy, the tannins sandy and refined, but the sweet fruit in the background, swirling smokiness and an elegant tart cherry edge to the acidity. Price quoted for 2013 vintage - 2014 not in UK at time of writing.
(2016) A fair amount of quality oak, with a nice bacon fat and meatiness that is very expressive. The palate has a smooth ripeness of black fruit, with dry tannins, meaty again, finishes with medium length. The oak perhaps just a little too dominant over the Syrah aromatics.
(2015) Slightly deeper colour but still fresh and green. Much more subdued aromatically. The palate delivers a bug burst of flavour - fresh apple and citrus, the oak perhaps just stifling it slightly, a big lemony thrust of acidity in the finish does not seem absolutely harmonious - just a bit too citric? A New World wine I think, but not Elgin. Tasted blind.
