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Miguel Torres 'Cordillera' Chardonnay, Limarí, Chile 2020
- Winemaker: MIGUEL TORRES
- Farming: Sustainable
- Varieties: Chardonnay
- Vinification: Whole bunch pressing, 50% alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel tanks, 50% in French oak.
- Aging: 100% in French oak barrels for 10 months, of which 77% is second and more uses and 23% new barrels.
From our April 2023 Bottle Club Selections:
Miguel Torres Cordillera Chardonnay, Limari, Chile 2020
Chile stretches for nearly 3,000 miles up the coast of South America, separated from the remainder of the continent by the towering and rugged Andes Mountains to the west, and hugged by the cold Pacific coastline on the east. It is so isolated that Chile is the only major winemaking country to remain totally phylloxera-free! Chile has six regional winegrowing regions (Denominations of Origin, or DOs) divided into 14 appellations. The Limarí Valley is the second most northern of these appellations, housed within the Coquimbo DO about 300km north of Santiago. While Chile has been growing wine grapes since the 1500s, only in 1995 was the legal system for fine wine production established. Historically, grapes here mostly went to the production of Pisco, a grape-based brandy. However, the last thirty years have brought tremendous respect and demand for Chilean still wine and its terroirs. This has spurred major investment from global wine brands who saw the Limarí Valley as a perfect nursery for international grape varieties. Spain’s Miguel Torres was the first of these foreign families to recognize the potential in Chile and set up their winery in 1979. All farming is organic, and they strive to dry-farm as much as possible, a tall order in a dry climate that historically relied heavily on irrigation.
This Chardonnay is thankfully not a butter bomb. The wine’s naturally high acidity is complemented by fermentation and aging in a mix of neutral barrels and stainless steel, bringing texture and aromatic intensity to the wine. There are light jasmine flowers, green pears, and grapefruit pith, and there’s a crisp, grassy quality, keeping it lean with fresh sweet herbs. Green papaya, plantain, lime zest, and toasted Marcona almonds all meld together in the glass, but the wine finishes very light on its feet, with bright acidity and lingering notes of crushed limestone. Try it with seafood like ceviche or rock cod, or light, spicy foods like Massaman Curry! —Simi Grewal
