Making terroir work

SANTA CAROLINA - MAKING TERROIR WORK

Santa Carolina Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2011 and

Santa Carolina Specialties Sauvignon Blanc Ocean Side 2011

Introducing Santa Carolina, the range of Chilean wines where winemakers use the extraordinary geologic and climatic conditions to produce wines to natural perfection and character in the vineyard.

Santa Carolina Winemaker Alejandro Wedeles explains in his personal blog santacarolinawinery.blogspot.com the process the team use to explore the perfect terroir for individual grapes.

Alejandro says; “I started thinking more deeply about terroir when I got the opportunity to make wine with 100 year old Cabernet Sauvignon vines. The terroir where these vines were growing was so vastly different from the conditions just a couple kilometers away that it really inspired me to think about how we could use these diverse conditions to make inspirational wines at Santa Carolina. For the last 5 years the Santa Carolina team has been traveling the entire breadth of the Chilean wine region (around 1000km) trying to better understand the development of new wine areas and the best match of soil + weather + grape variety for each one. The result is superb wine as nature intended.”

Santa Carolina Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2011

Majestic Wines RRSP £9.99

Leyda Valley

The wine: This crisp Sauvignon Blanc exhibits a pale sunny yellow hue with aromas of dry citrus that come through on the palate. Notes of orange blossom and a hint of tropical fruit round its smooth acidity into a lingering finish. Alejandro enjoys this wine with Fish and chips, “I love this wine with a white fresh fish in a perfectly crisp beer batter. The acidity of this sauvignon Blanc balances the oily texture of the dish.”

The terroir: Beautiful Sauvignon in Chile is usually grown in granitic clay or sandy loamy soils, as in Casablanca or Leyda. These soils contain primitive rocks embedded for millions of years. Soil affects the minerals that the plant can use for growth giving a different ph value and acidity to the grapes. However, for the development of the aromas profiles and taste palate the weather has a bigger influence than soil.

Weather changes sugar storage in the grape and rate of acid degradation, and also the development of aroma precursors (the notes which will give way to flavours, notes and aromas as the wine matures), so put simply the cooler the valley the higher the acids and more aroma precursor created in the grape on the vine.

In the Casablanca Valley the soils range from sandy loamy to slightly granitic and the main aroma character of Sauvignon Blanc here is citrus notes and strong acidity. In contrast the Leyda Valley with ancient granitic and loamy clay soils, gives the wine a very rich texture and solid mouth feel with pleasant complexity in the nose moving close to white fruits and gooseberry.

In Santa Carolina Sauvignon Blanc Reserva we have a full range of aromas going from grapefruit to gooseberry (no heavy vegetable notes) and a mouth full of complexity with nice length but with the crisp acidity that refreshes the palate.

In looking for the perfect terroir for the reserve Santa Carolina used originally grapes from Elqui Valley to Bio Bio passing through Casablanca and Leyda valleys. There were singularities and individual expression in each valley, but only in Leyda did the team feel happy with the mouth feel, natural acidity and way in which the aromas were expressed. In 2008 Santa Carolina decided to change the Sauvignon Blanc vineyards from Los Lingues in the Rapel Valley and put all our efforts into three different spots of the Leyda valley.

Santa Carolina Specialties Sauvignon Blanc Ocean Side 2011

Oddbins RRSP £14.99 
San Antonio Valley

The wine: A clear and early morning brightness manifests itself in this classic Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, recalling the consistent sunlight in San Antonio. It reveals strong notes of minerality and pronounced acidity with fresh peppers, and has refreshing notes of thyme, lemongrass, and lemon balm with a round finish.

Alejandro enjoys this wine with the Chilean Ceviche; “soaking fresh Chilean seabass in freshly squeezed lime juice, red onions and coriander is common in all coastal villages. Our Sauvignon Blanc enhances all those juices.”

The terroir: The reserve experience inspired the team to take it a little further with the new Specialties range. Leyda is just one part of a new and exciting undiscovered terroir called the San Antonio Valley. It is divided into four sectors: Leyda, Lo Abarca, Rosario, and Malvilla and the entire valley sits right on top of the cold Pacific ocean.

It is the closest Chilean wine region to the Ocean and the oceanscape quickly turns into rolling green hillsides, now bedecked in Santa Carolina vines. It has taken strong-willed wine-growers to plant so close to the sea and patience to see how the flavours have developed. In just over 300 hectares of planted vines Chardonnay and Sauvignon are prevalent with some Pinot Noir and Merlot producing lovely spicy reds.

The soil is granitic from pre-historic rock and there is a huge difference in temperature from day to night caused by cooling winds coming in off the cold Pacific Ocean. This means the grapes can stay on vine for longer, developing lemongrass, fresh pepper and thyme notes. Consistent sunlight and cooling nights yield wines with crisp lean acidity, authentic minerality and a lovely roundness and robust length. This creates a unique and concentrated mouth feel which is all about the cleanness and freshness.

The terroir is in the glass and it’s only natural that we drink it with fresh seafish, seabass and lobster with freshly squeezed lime. The glass of Santa Carolina Ocean Side Sauvignon Blanc transports you to the San Antonio Valley almost literally.