Ventisquero, Tara Chardonnay 2020

Ventisquero are at the forefront of some of Chile's most exciting wines. Based in the Atacama desert (the driest desert on earth), they have an incredibly unique terroir to play with. Maritime fog is the main source of hydration for their vines; and with the salty, limstone-dominant soil the wines have incredible structure and minerality. Tara Chardonnay is a super fresh, bright, mineral white. The grapes were harvested and spent ageing on its fine lees for 21 months prior to bottling. Cloudy in appearance (the wine was bottled unfiltered), the nose reveals sweet apricots and floral notes leading to a textured palate where the chalkiness and salinity of the soil really comes through on the finish. An superb wine to pair with all kinds of shellfish, especially lobster. The almost ridiculously tough growing conditions means only a small 11,000 bottles were produced - this is definitely a wine to savour.