2016 Errázuriz Las Pizarras
Pre-Delivery Offer

Arrival Date: Mid-April

(Aconcagua Costa - Estate Map)

2016 Pinot Noir

99 Points James Suckling

“The mineral, stone, slate and violet aromas are superb. Full body, dense and silky texture. So much beautiful fruit yet it's so reserved and refined. Layered and complete. Fantastic acidity at the finish. Iron, iodine and oyster. Long finish.
Superb follow up to the 2015”

The Vintage

The wines of 2016 have an immense sense of purity and tension. The cool spring set the stage for a long season, even though the overall heat summation was higher than average due to a warm summer. This lead us to believe that the perfect ripeness of our grapes would arrive early; nevertheless, we were proved wrong by a gentle sugar accumulation, reaching a prolonged, even ripening through harvest. The resulting wine possess great site specificity, depth and quality.

The Vineyard

Sourced entirely from our Aconcagua Costa Estate from specific lots that have a significant component of metamorphic rock including slate (Pizarras, in Spanish). Given the extremes of this cool climate site, as well as the uniqueness of its soils and elevations, each small block ripens at its own pace. Its proximity to the cool Pacific Ocean and its well-drained soils, with high level of slate and metamorphic rock, allow the Estate to produce Pinot Noir of exceptional complexity, depth, minerality, and natural acidity.

Winemaking

All grapes (82% de-stemmed, 18% whole cluster) were hand-picked and rigorously double sorted out by hand before placing them directly into small open-top fermenters. 100% of the fruit had a cold maceration at 8° to 10ºC for 4 to 5 days before starting fermentation with 100% native yeasts, followed by an extended average maceration period of up to 20 days. Daily gentle punch downs made by hand helped to keep the cap moist. Free-run wine was drained and then kept for 13 months in 100% French oak, 33% of them new.

Winemakers Notes

“Of a cherry red color, it has beautiful violet hues. Complex nose, with reminiscent of rosehip, myrtle, sour cherries and a refreshing bergamot hint, accompanied by soft notes of marzipan and dried fruit notes. Equally complex and consistent with what is perceived in the nose, the palate is predominantly marked by fresh red fruit, floral notes, with some subtle notes of moist soil, citrus fruits, sweet spice and brioche. Very well structured, with fine and elegant tannins that deliver a chalky finish. A wine that displays a balance between amplitude and length very well achieved that allows to talk about power and elegance in a harmonious and persistent outcome”. Winemaker Francisco Baettig

Buy @ £325.00 IB per case of 6 (OWC)

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2016 Chardonnay

98 Points James Suckling

“So perfumed with honey, melon, lilac flower and cooked apple aromas. Just a hint of cream. Full body yet linear and racy with a bright and intense acidity. Very energetic and powerful. Dense and layered. It rolls off the palate and grabs your attention. Best white of Chile this year for the second year in a row. Electric”

The Vintage

The wines of 2016 have an immense sense of purity and tension. The cool spring set the stage for a long season, even though the overall heat summation was higher than average due to a warm summer. This lead us to believe that the perfect ripeness of our grapes would arrive early; nevertheless, we were proved wrong by a gentle sugar accumulation, reaching a prolonged, even ripening through harvest. The resulting wine possess great site specificity, depth and quality.

The Vineyard

Sourced entirely from our Aconcagua Costa Estate from specific lots that have a significant component of metamorphic rock including slate (Pizarras, in Spanish). Given the extremes of this cool climate site, as well as the uniqueness of its soils and elevations, each small block ripens at its own pace. Its proximity to the cool Pacific Ocean and its well-drained soils, with high level of slate and metamorphic rock, allow the Estate to produce Chardonnay of exceptional complexity, depth, minerality, and natural acidity.

Winemaking

The grapes are hand-picked in the early morning hours to ensure the fruit arrives at the winery cool and ready for 100% whole cluster pressing. Grapes are carefully hand-sorted before being gently pressed. Whole clusters were pressed and the juice was before being moved by gravity flow into small stainless steel tanks for decanting 24 hours and French Oak barrels for 100% native yeast fermentation. 55% of blend underwent malolactic fermentation progressed slowly in the cellar until an ideal acid- balance was achieved. The wine is kept for 13 months in 100% French oak barrels, 18% of them new and 82% of second and third use.

Winemakers Notes

The 2016 vintage of Las Pizarras Chardonnay displays a beautiful bright yellow color. The nose reveals citrus fruits, with slight notes of gunpowder complemented by white floral aromas. The palate exhibits harmonious flavors of citrus fruits, fine pastry and dried fruits. It is an elegant and fresh wine, with a texture that enhances it’s most mineral and deep side; a wine of great finesse and whose persistence is uplifted by vibrant acidity and long finish. Winemaker Francisco Baettig

Buy @ £220.00 IB per case of 6 (OWC)

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Wine of the Week 9

Wine of purity and energy, a true expression
of the terroir from which it is sourced.

Located on Barossa’s legendary Seppeltsfield Road, a famous ten kilometre stretch boasting some of Australia’s oldest and well-known wineries including Izway’s neighbours Torbreck, Hentley Farm, Greenock Creek and Two Hands Wines. Although Izway winery is surrounded by vast vineyards with stunning terroir and some of the oldest vines on the continent, Izway (unlike their neighbours) remains a tiny, boutique winery producing only a few barriques each year.

The story began in 2003, when a single barrel was produced and bottled giving the origin to ‘Bruce’ Shiraz. By 2009, the production of ‘Bruce’ Shiraz increased however, only to 575 cases. A picture begins to draw as to how ‘boutique’ Izway wines truly are when we compare with Torbreck wines who produce 70,000 cases and continue to be seen as small, highly sought after winery.

Older vintages of Izway are difficult to find. Allow me to define the word ‘difficult’ – there are two wine merchants in the world market in possession of the superb 2009 ‘Bruce’ Shiraz. Clearly, The Vinorium and one wine merchant in Hong Kong. Izway themselves do not possess stocks of this vintage, which may appear a little daft however, and as previously reported, it is not uncommon for The Vinorium to sell older vintages back to their original owners.

Hentley Farm is a great example when our entire holdings of their original bottling of flagship ‘Clos Otto’ travelled all the way back to their home cellar… Keith, the owner of Hentley Farm purchased all our stock at £85.00 per bottle which in turn is being sold at the cellar door for $600.00 per bottle. Not a bad return for Keith!

Vinorium Tasting Note (served at lunch 14th March 2018)

Clearly, a brute of a wine when first bottled however, almost a decade-on has unveiled a wine of amazing concentration, purity, and richness, but (thankfully) the heaviness has departed. A few hours in the decanter revealed a complex nose of sweet blackcurrant, roasted coffee and a little tar. The palate is a seamless blend of dark fruits with a suggestion of olive tapenade and liquorice, which and over time, will be more evident. This wine has enormous potential, complexity, and definition and owners can look forward to another 10-15 years of pure pleasure. I believe serving the wine on the cooler side of room temperature is best…

94-95 points Stuart McCloskey