Six South American White wines to surprise and amaze you.

How we found and selected these six wines

Every year the city we live in holds week-long themed wine festivals. This year it was all about the wines of South America. The cherry on the top was an event that celebrated the crème de la crème of South American wineries.

The deal was that each of the 44 participating wineries must bring one and only one of their wines to showcase during this event.

If you have an event like this happening in your city and can afford to go, you absolutely should. For those who can’t, we hope we’ve done our civic duty by spotlighting some of the better wines worthy of your attention. But we did not stop there. We asked and answered two of the most existential questions:
¿Who makes better white wines – Chile or Argentina?
¿With so many wineries vying for our attention and showcasing their best, which one reigned supreme?
On that note, let’s get cracking on those reviews.

Viña Errázuriz Aconcagua Costa Chardonnay 2021: the wine and the winery behind it.

Founded by Maximiano Errázuriz in 1870, Viña Errázuriz bills itself as a benchmark for quality Chilean wines. Now owned by the seventh generation of the Errázuriz family, the winery has been expanded to Chile’s new winegrowing areas. Aconcagua Valley is one such area.
Grapes for this Chardonnay come from the Aconcagua Valley, the latest appellations in Chile. This wine was aged entirely in used French oak (both barrels and foudres), hence the reason behind the typical oaked Chardonnay notes found in this wine.

Viña Ventisquero Single Block Grey Chardonnay 2021: the wine and the winery behind it.

This wine is from the newer winery that was founded in Chile in 1998 by Chilean businessman Gonzalo Vial. The winery prides itself on producing modern-styled or, as they say themselves, avant-garde wines. This particular wine was aged part in French barrels and part in steel tanks. The grapes are coming from Casablanca Valley in Chile.

The wine shows restraint and limited oak prominence even though a whopping 80% of it was aged in French barrels.

Luigi Bosca Chardonnay 2021: the wine and the winery behind it.

The winery goes back to 1890 when it was founded by Leoncio Arizu, a winemaker from Spain. Over the years, Arizu purchased several other wineries turning them into his company brands but under the wineries’ original names. This winemaking business is now owned and operated by the fourth generation of the Arizu family.

Luigi Bosca Chardonnay is a young, fruity Chardonnay from the grapes grown in Uco Valley. It has a curios flavour profile as the wine was only partially aged in French Oak. The rest was aged in steel tanks.

Works well with fish and shrimp stew with tomato broth. Cioppino should work well too.

Bodegas Salentein Single Vineyard “Las Secuoyas” San Pablo IG Chardonnay 2017: the wine and the winery behind it.

Founded in 1996 by a Dutch businessman, Myndert Pon, Bodegas Salentein is reportedly one of the most visited wineries in Argentina, producing the finest wines in Uco Valley.
This is another Chardonnay made from the grapes grown in Uco Valley. Priced on the premium side, this wine costs every penny for the quality you get with this elegant and well-balanced Chardonnay.
This wine is more reminiscent of California Chardonnays than typical unoaked Burgundian ones and for a good reason. Aged for 10 months in French oak, this wine is round and creamy. If you like your Chardonnay wines fully oaked, this one makes one great choice.

Pair it with parsnip puree and roast chicken. Need a recipe? Sign up for our newsletter to ensure you don’t miss a recipe for these and other dishes that work great with fully oaked Chardonnay and other wines.

Which of these South American Chardonnays reigned supreme?

We set out several objectives when we started on our South American Chardonnay wine-tasting journey:
• Vertical comparison of the 2021 Chardonnays from two different producers of the same country.
• Comparison of Chile and Argentina Chardonnay Wines
• Finding the best value for the money among South American Chardonnay wines
• Finding the best South American Chardonnay, irrespective of the price tag

All of the above was accomplished within the limitations of the wines presented and made available to us during the Wine Festival event.

Out of the two Chilean Chardonnays that we tasted, Viña Errázuriz Aconcagua Costa Chardonnay 2021 was the wine that we liked more. While something is to be said for the restrained flavours of the Ventisquero Chardonnay, we prefer our wines to be more of the show pony and have their qualities ready for us in full display. Subdued flavours of Ventisquero Chardonnay did not do it for us.

To continue with our horizontal tasting, we picked 2021 Argentinian Chardonnay produced by Luigi Bosca. This very young Chardonnay showed better than both Chilean Chardonnays. Factoring in the wine quality, Luigi Bosca was also the most value-priced wine of the four Chardonnays we tried.

Speaking of the wines showcased at the event, Argentinian Chardonnays impressed us much more than their Chilean counterparts. As a matter of curiosity, both of these wines came from the Uco Valley, a wine-growing area worth paying attention to.

Now to the final question of the Chardonnay that reigned supreme.

In our opinion, Chardonnay from the Bodegas Salentein was the undisputed winner of this challenge.

As with any wine, the best-in-class pick is a matter of personal preferences. If you are not into oaked wines, chances are this won’t be the one to steal your heart and palate. For us, Bodegas Salentein hit all the sweet spots with their 2017 Chardonnay. It is as classic as they make them. Yet, it comes at a fraction of the price of Burgundy or California wines, made in a similar classical style. While Bodegas Selentein Chardonnay sports a price tag that many will find cost-prohibitive, this wine is worth remembering, especially when you need a suitable wine for special occasions. If money is not an issue, consider getting a couple of cases of this classically made beauty for your cellar and drink it over the next few years. While you are at it, observe how this wine develops its flavour profile as it ages even more.

Viña Koyle Costa Cuarzo Sauvignon Blanc 2021: the wine and the winery behind it.

Surprisingly there’s a bit of creaminess to this wine that we were not expecting to find in the Chilean Sauvignon Blancs.

This wine is what one might call a simple wine. While it does not have layers of flavour, it is quite enjoyable and pairs well with fish ceviche and tataki.

Viña Santa Ema Gran Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2022: the wine and the winery behind it.

This is one crisp, herbaceous and lip-puckering wine. While this Sauvignon Blanc is not going to be crowned a champion of complexity or finesse any time soon, it is an excellent food wine to pair with ceviche, crudos, oka, poke as well as shellfish. We’ve got just a recipe that will work well with this wine.

Which Chilean Sauvignon Blanc reigned supreme?

Comparing the two Chilean Sauvignon Blancs we tried at the event, Santa Ema was a better wine. However, it was too vegetal for our liking. At the end of the day, neither of these wines would be our choice. These wines are priced comparably to New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. Yet we find the fruity and flowery flavour profiles of the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs much more enjoyable. If you are determined to buy a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, we recommend that you factor in how well your wine will pair with food. Santa Ema does much better as a food-friendly wine than its counterpart from Koyle Winery.

Bottom line

Despite the popularity of South American wines, they hardly ever get the spot on the fine wines list. This is both good and bad. Bad, as the lack of appreciation robs these wine producers of the spotlight they deserve. And we all know that lack of spotlight means very little business coming your way. No business means eventual death for the wineries.

But there’s always a yang to every yin. In our books, the low profile of South American wines creates an opportunity for budget buyers among us. Take, for example, Bodegas Salentein, our favourite Chardonnay of the event. To get an equivalent of this quality among the North American or French producers, you would have to pay a premium of at least $40. Add to this equation a well-known name, and that price will grow exponentially.
To our chagrin, we were oblivious to how much South American winemaking has changed since our heydays as university students keen on $9 Argentinian plonk. This, unfortunately, epitomizes the problem the South American wine industry faces today. Once you construct a stereotype, destroying it becomes a real challenge. We feel fortunate that the opportunity presented itself for us to do just that.

Related posts:

• From Plonk To Premium: South America’s Great Red Wines