Chilean White Single Varietal under £10

A hat-trick of Regional Trophies over three successive years is testament to a rare blend...

Secano Estate Sauvignon Gris 2010, Leyda

What a wine this is – a hat-trick of Regional Trophies over three successive years is testament to a rare blend of consistently great fruit, top-notch winemaking and outstanding value for money. Kudos to the talented young team at Viña Leyda and the buyers at M&S, who develop this wine together.

Since its inception in 1997, Viña Leyda has been a pioneering producer. It was the first wine project established in the San Antonio region – and only got off the ground because the partners were so convinced about the potential of this coastal area that they invested in an eight-kilometer pipeline to bring essential water in for irrigation. Since then, the wines have been consistently excellent: diverse, high quality, elegant and brilliant value. 

Not content to rest on its laurels, the winery is re-investing in new vineyards, some as close as three kilometres to the coast, in a bid for even greater diversity and elegance in its wines. This Sauvignon Gris is typical of its house style: an expressive, succulent wine with no shortage of winsome character and charm but also with an elegant, deftly crafted nature and a subtle mineral undertow. 

Winemaker Viviana Navarrete resists the urge to age the wine in oak, which might result in a wine that’s too rich. Instead, she lets the structured, savoury nature of the San Antonio terroir shine through, just using some lees contact over 6 months to flesh out the mid-palate and smooth out the texture. A beautiful, unique wine.

Written by Peter Richards