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!
Sauvignon Blanc in Chile
Sauvignon Blanc in Argentina
Sauvignon Blanc in Uruguay
Sauvignon Blanc in Brazil, Peru & Bolivia
Sauvignon Blanc wines to try from South America
Guide to Sauvignon Blanc in Chile
Hectares planted: 15,224 hectares
Key descriptors
Pale lemon in colour. Aromas of citrus fruit, minerals, herbs, gooseberries & guavas. Dry with mouth-watering acidity (high) and light to medium body.
Winemaking styles
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.
Favourite producers
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
Guide to Sauvignon Blanc in Argentina
Hectares planted: 1,949 hectares
Key descriptors
Pale lemon colour. Aromas of wild herbs, citrus fruit & minerality. Dry with mouth- watering (high) acidity, light body and a long finish.
Winemaking styles
South American Sauvignon Blanc is typically vinified without oak (in stainless steel or concrete) and harvested early with modest alcohol (11% – 13%). Some producers do significant lees stirring. Monovarietals and blends.
The winemaker, Matías Michelini, set himself the goal of making stellar Sauvignon Blanc. It was an experiment that bore fruit, first at Doña Paula in the early 2000s, and later with his work at Sophenia, Zorzal and Passionate Wines. Matías is one of the most experienced Sauvignon Blanc producers and his mission led him to the Uco Valley and to the conclusion that Argentine Sauvignon Blanc needed to embrace its mountain identity, rather than imitate the coastal styles so typical in the rest of the New World.
Flash forward a decade and Matías is no longer the sole advocate for this variety. Another iconic Sauvignon Blanc producer in Argentina today is Italian transplant Giuseppe Franceschini, who makes some of the country’s best Sauvignon Blanc under his La Giostra del Vino label from grapes grown in the Uco Valley too. The Uco Valley is quite clearly a hotspot for first-rate mountain Sauvignon Blanc, but there are also some exceptional Sauvignon Blanc wines being made in the high-altitude Calchaquí Valleys and in Pedernal in San Juan. These mountain terroirs tend to produce minerally, grippy and lean wines, which can be intensely perfumed.
A new dimension in Argentine Sauvignon Blanc is also developing along the coastline, with the exciting Costa y Pampa vineyard making aromatic and fresh coastal Sauvignon Blanc.
Favourite producers
Bodega Tacuil, Colomé, Costa y Pampa, Doña Paula, La Giostra del Vino (Saltimbanco, Bacán), Passionate Wines, Sophenia, Salentein, Zorzal.
Read more about Matias Michelini – Mendoza’s mas for mountain Sauvignon Blanc
Guide to Sauvignon Blanc in Uruguay
Hectares planted: 129
Sauvignon Blanc is a natural choice for the maritime climate of Uruguay, although to be honest many of the Sauvignon Blanc wines in Uruguay are something of a work in progress. Uruguay’s warm and humid climate results in Sauvignon Blanc wines that are less defined and refreshing than Chile’s coastal Sauvignon Blanc, and much more subtle and lightly aromatic in style. There are, however, a handful of Uruguayan Sauvignon Blancs that are worth getting your hands on. With all the different soil types in Uruguay, the styles can vary quite widely from the citrus-led styles of Canelones, to the more herbaceous styles of Maldonado, and the tropical-scented Sauvignon Blanc wines of Rivera.
Favourite producers
Pisano, Pizzorno, Gimenez Mendez, Garzón, Antigua Bodega Uruguay, Cerro Chapeau, Familia Deicas
Click to read our guide to Canelones wine region & Maldonado wine region
Guide to Sauvignon Blanc in Brazil, Peru & Bolivia
There are also plantings of Sauvignon Blanc in Brazil, Peru and Bolivia. In Brazil, you’ll find Sauvignon Blanc in most of the wine regions —ranging from the south, on the border of Uruguay, to the higher altitude regions of Santa Catarina and Serra da Mantiqueira.
In Peru, there are a handful of coastal Sauvignon Blanc wines in Ica but one of the most exciting plantations in my mind is the high altitude Apu Sauvignon Blanc which has an impressive mountain identity (see below). In Bolivia you’ll find some easy-drinking Sauvignon Blanc wines in Tarija too.
Terroir Selection: Sauvignon Blanc wines to try from South America
APU, Sauvignon Blanc
Sierra del Perú / $$ / Drinking window <5 years
This incredibly fresh, vibrant Sauvignon Blanc is one of the early releases from the growing portfolio of this young but exciting project at high altitude (up to 3,300 m.a.s.l.) on limestone-rich soils. Herbaceous, tropical notes with a long, bracing finish.
COLOMÉ, Altura Máxima Lote Especial Sauvignon Blanc
Molinos (Salta) / $$$ / Drinking window <10 years
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. See full tasting note
LA GIOSTRA DE VINO, Saltimbanco
El Peral / $$$ / Drinking window <20 years
I’m just in love with this wine. It’s so distinctive and yet so very Sauvignon Blanc. Italian white-wine genius Giuseppe Franceschini makes this racy wine from El Peral with true flair. Mouth-watering saline flavours are mixed with heady flint notes, grapefruit zest and leesy complexity. The closest you’ll find to a Bordeaux Blanc in Latin America.
RICCITELLI WINES, Sauvignon Blanc
La Carrera / $$ / Drinking window <15 years
If you like lightning in your white wines, this is the Sauvignon Blanc for you. The grapes come from the very cool climate of La Carrera at 1,700 m.a.s.l.; one of the last places to harvest in Mendoza. Yet the wine is still incredibly lean and mouth-watering with notes of elderflower, nettle and oyster shell.
PASSIONATE WINE, Montesco Agua de Roca
San Pablo GI / $$ / Drinking window <15 years
Matías Michelini helped paved the way for Argentine Sauvignon Blanc and this wild, mouth-watering wine is one of his most distinctive mountain white wines. Mineral, savoury and thrilling. It also ages well, so try to hold on to a couple if you can. A cult classic.
VIÑA VENTISQUERO, Grey Sauvignon Blanc
Huasco / $$ / Drinking window <5 years
This racy wine has all the vibrancy of a cool-coastal Sauvignon Blanc, with spicy notes of green chilli peppers, pickled limes and fresh snowpeas! A sea- salt freshness and zesty acidity make it ideal to go with the sea urchins, oysters and clams typical of the region.
VIÑA TABALÍ, Talinay Sauvignon Blanc
Talinay / $$ / Drinking window <15 years
A very classy and elegant Sauvignon Blanc from the limestone lands of Talinay. Pulsating acidity, a textural finish and delicate notes of elderflower and fine herbs.
UNDURRAGA, TH Sauvignon Blanc Limarí
Talinay / $$ / Drinking window <10 years
Undurraga’s Terroir Hunter range has hit a home run with this new vintage of Sauvignon Blanc from the limestone-rich vineyard of Talinay. Lean and delicate with notes of talcum powder, white stone fruit and lime with a zesty acidity balanced with juicy fruit. Stylish Chilean Sauvignon Blanc.
MONTES, Outer Limits Sauvignon Blanc
Zapallar / $ / Drinking window <10 years
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. See full tasting note
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