Casa Marin Sauvignon Blanc Cipreses Vineyard 2022

The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc from Lo Abarca, San Antonio, hails from Los Cipreses Vineyards, planted in granite soils over a layer of calcium carbonate. Yellow in the glass with a steely sheen. The intense, complex nose features notes of yellow pepper, rue, hints of grass and lime, followed by seaside aromas. Concentrated and fatty in the mouth, the taut, chalky palate achieve a tense balance quite unique in Chile. - Joaquin Hidalgo

The expressive, aromatic and intensely varietal 2021 Sauvignon Blanc Cipreses Vineyard comes from vines at four kilometers from the sea and has a strong sea influence, and the cool climate (in a cool year) gives the wine a salty twist. This fermented and matured with lees for a short while in stainless steel and was bottled early without adding acidity or being clarified. Yet the wine is clean and bright, pungent, with strong herbal notes. It has good ripeness, 13.5% alcohol and balancing acidity (7.88 grams). It reveals a refreshing palate, finishing dry and long. 25,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2021.

Maria Luz Marin and her son Felipe specialize in sauvignon blanc at their family estate in the remote coastal village of Lo Abarca. Cipreses is a steep hillside of granite and limestone facing directly west, exposed to the winds off the Pacific less than three miles away. The wine is infused with oceanic flavors, the saltiness of the air and the spiky green-herb scents of the surrounding coastal scrub. But mostly, there’s fruit: bold tropical lime and cherimoya layered in ripeness and textural complexity. Pour it with roasted razor clams, or bring a bottle to the beach, for lobsters roasted with corn and potatoes in a sand pit this summer.

This is a sauvignon blanc with weight and character with loads of gunpowder and flint undertones. Full body, velvety texture and a long and flavorful finish. Love the mouthfeel to this.