De Martino Legado Chardonnay 2023

De Martino Legado Chardonnay 

Region: Limari Valley, Coquimbo Region, Chile

Vintage: 2023

Bottle size: 75cl

Grape: Chardonnay

ABV: 13.5%

Fresh aromas of ripe citrus and stone fruits are combined with mineral salty note.

Grapes are destemmed and lightly pressed avoiding extraction of bitter phenolic characteristics. The juice is left to settle and then racked to used French oak barrels (228lts) where alcoholic fermentation is carried out with ambient yeast at temperatures that range from 18-22°C. Minimum battonage and partial malolactic fermentation (30%). The wine is then aged for a total of 12 months in used French oak barrels.

De Martino are a family estate of Italian heritage and are heralded as being somewhat the pioneers of Chilean wine production. Whilst they have a multitude of accolades, they are renownded for being the first to identify, bottle and export a varietal Carmenere from Chile and also for changing the Chilean wine scene in 2011 when their winemaker, the revered Marcel Retamal, decided that wines should be made completely differently to avoid the over extracted, high alcohol, oaky examples available on the market. To this end, he stated that grapes would be picked earlier, all oenological products such as commercial yeasts, enzymes, tannins would be stopped in favour of spontaneous ferment and indigenous yeasts and finally that zero new oak would be used as to not mask the great fruit they could produce. Needless to say that others soon followed suit! Add to this the fact that they have been voted “winery of the year” on three separate occasions, they were Chile’s first Carbon Neutral Winery, their wines are highly awarded by all critics and journalists (incl. getting top spot in Robert Parkers Chile review) and they continue to push boundaries by elaborating wines with different varietals and different terroirs, they are without doubt the top estate in Chile right now

https://demartino.cl