Desert wine: Viña Ventisquero's Tara project in Chile

Find out how three Chilean winemakers are producing premium wines in Atacama – the most arid desert in the world – and see Decanter's expert tasting notes and scores, available exclusively to Premium members.

Viña Ventisquero’s Tara project – which sees three of the company’s winemakers producing wines in Chile’s remote Atacama desert – continued to impress at an exclusive tasting in London for the Decanter team.

Ventisquero’s winemaker, Felipe Tosso, presented recent vintages of Tara Red 1 (Pinot Noir), Tara Red 2 (85% Syrah, 15% Merlot), Tara White 1 (Chardonnay) and a Viognier that is not yet commercially released.

The two Tara vineyards are located 400km north of Limarí, 15-20km from the coast. When the project started, there was just a single hectare planted – challenging enough given the extreme conditions. Some weather stations in the Atacama desert have never recorded a single drop of rain, earning it the title of the ‘driest place on earth’.

Scroll down to see Tara project wine tasting notes

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