Salta and finesse don’t always go hand in hand, but this Sauvignon Blanc embodies the finesse, elegance and austerity you can get from the seriously high-altitude (3,111 metres!) vineyards. Delicate herbaceous and saline notes with electric acidity and a mouth-watering finish.
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With Sauvignon Blanc Day around the corner on 6th May, we’ve pulled together the ultimate guide to Sauvignon Blanc wines in South America. There are over 17,000 hectares of the variety planted between Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, with some distinctive Sauvignon Blanc wines and regions in each. We round up some of the best Sauvignon Blanc wines to drink from South America too. Dig in and get your bottle chilled!
Pale lemon in colour. Aromas of citrus fruit, minerals, herbs, gooseberries & guavas. Dry with mouth-watering acidity (high) and light to medium body.
Typically sold in its youth and made in stainless steel tanks with no oak ageing, although styles are diversifying with some oaked examples and the use of concrete eggs becoming more popular. Mostly monovarietal, and around 13% – 13.5%.
If you ask me for my ‘go-to’ value white wine from South America, I’d probably say Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. It’s certainly one of the most reliable and consistently good white wines on the continent, and it suits a wide range of styles and budgets.
As one of the most widely planted varieties, there are some distinctive regional styles being carved out in Chile’s different wine regions. The wines of Limarí and Huasco, for example, tend towards more mineral, austere styles, whereas Elqui Sauvignon Blanc is particularly tangy and citrus-driven; meanwhile Leyda, San Antonio and Aconcagua Costa are best-known for their herbaceous and spicy style; while the warmer region of Casablanca typically expresses more ripe white fruit and even tropical fruit aromas.
The coastal regions of Colchagua and Maule are usually much more subtle in flavour, while the wines from their more mountainous areas are lean, herbaceous and wilder in profile — especially those from the volcanic soils at higher altitudes. When you reach the southernmost regions of Malleco and Osorno, you find mineral and complex wines that take years to open up but will cellar well for a decade or more.
Tabalí, Viña Leyda, Casa Marín, Matetic, Laberinto, Undurraga Terroir Hunter, Casa Silva Lago Ranco, Miguel Torres, Cono Sur, Trapi del Bueno, Sol de Sol, Garcés Silva, Calyptra, Koyle, Concha y Toro Terrunyo & Gravas
This wine helped redefine Aconcagua’s potential for Sauvignon Blanc. Produced just a few kilometres from the coast on granite soil, this is a bright and vibrant Sauvignon Blanc filled with notes of snow peas, lime zest, passionfruit and white pepper. Deliciously easy to drink, with appealing texture and a fresh, salty finish. Top value and ideal for oysters.
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This fresh and tangy Sauvignon Blanc with sea salt, citrus and herb aromas, is one of the promising early vintages of this new coastal terroir.
Wapisa wines is the Patagonian project of Fincas Patagónicas (see Tapiz in Mendoza) making maritime wines from their 60-hectare vineyard in San Javier in coastal Río Negro. The winery is making Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir so far.
Read more about Wapisa