-
96
/ 100
James Suckling -
95
/ 100
The Wine Advocate -
95
/ 100
Vinous
White
Classification
Chardonnay
Variety
2020
Vintage
750ml (Bottle)
Bottle Size
Chile
Country
Southern Regions, Malleco
Region
13.5%
Alcohol %
Ready, but will Keep
Cellaring
Scores
96 / 100"Complexity and lots of stamina and verve here! Smoky lemons, nougat, ginger and flint provide a very flavorful palate. Intense and substantial on the palate, but still elegant and nuanced, with a hint of phenolics at the end. Long, focused finish. Think fine Meursault. Drink or hold."
- James Suckling
95 / 100
"The 2020 Selección de Parcelas Los Primos Chardonnay was cropped from a warm and dry vintage, but in Traiguén in the south, it is not as warm as in the central valley of Chile. The grapes were harvested the first half of April; they harvested earlier and finished with more alcohol, still a moderate 13.5%, from a year of more body and rounder wines but without heat. The wine kept a pH of 3.16 and 6.9 grams of acidity. This also makes the wine a little more Burgundian, more Meursault than Chablis or Puligny, tasty, spicy with a tad more oak (all the new barrels for white are 400-liter ones, 38% of them new in 2020), because in warmer years there is a little more extraction from the oak. This is the warmest vintage so far, but the wine is still bone dry and there is no ripeness; but there's more weight and width. The wines have to show the differences of the climate conditions each year... 4,069 bottles were filled in July 2021."
- The Wine Advocate
95 / 100
"The 2020 Chardonnay Selección de Parcelas Los Primos was 38% aged in new oak. Slightly murky greenish yellow in the glass. The intriguingly attractive aromas feature gentle apple, hints of honey and a touch of damson, followed by a nutty layer of hazelnut. Exuberant without being overly rich, it fills the palate but is tempered by a chalky outline that avoids salinity. Long-lasting, and the bold aftertaste includes both hazelnut and fruity flavors."
- Vinous
Tasting Notes
Baettig is the family project of winemaker Francisco "Pancho" Baettig (Errázuriz) and Carlos de Carlos in Traiguén, some 600 kilometers south of Santiago. They planted 15.4 hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir on volcanic soils in 2013 and the first wines are hitting the Ontario market for the first time now.
This Selección de Parcelas Los Primos was made with Chardonnay grapes grown in Malleco, in the appellation of Traiguén. Malleco is a land of wild forests, beautiful lakes, active volcanoes and abundant rain in the southern Chilean region of La Araucanía. The ancient volcanic soils of this area are composed of pyroclastic volcanic breccia of andesite lava, with clay to loam texture. The abundant rainfall throughout the year allows Baettig to practice a dry-farming viticulture.
The grapes comes from a selection of the Triángulo and Llaima parcels, which deliver vertical and mineral wines with good tension. The name Los Primos (the cousins) refers to the closeness of style and quality of the vineyard parcels that give rise to this wine.
The grapes were harvested during the first two weeks of April, and pressed with whole cluster. The juice fermented in barrels with native yeasts, and was aged for 16 months in French oak barrels—38% in new 400L casks.
Bright yellow colour. Aromatic and highly complex with notes of pear, nougat, acacia, apricot, honey, wax and hints of dried fruits such as walnuts, hazelnuts and cashew. It is deep and full in mouth with a creamy texture and notes of apple, passion fruit, honey, hay and spices. The body and density are harmoniously balanced by the acidity, giving a deep, fresh, lively and tense wine,
with a long finish and great aging potential.
Tasting Profile
- Light
- Full
- Low Tannin
- Tannic
- Sweet
- Dry
- Low Acidity
- High Acidity