Chilean Sauvignon Blanc £10-£30: Panel tasting results

Peter Richards MW, Ben Gubbins and Dirceu Vianna Junior MW tasted 78 wines with 3 Outstanding and 11 Highly recommended.

Chilean Sauvignon Blanc: Panel tasting scores

78 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 3

Highly recommended 11

Recommended 28

Commended 15

Fair 18

Poor 3

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their 100% Sauvignon Blanc still white wines in the price range £10-£30 in the UK

Let’s start with the positives. Six of the 14 wines scoring 90 points or above here came from San Antonio or Leyda – regions that earned plaudits from this tasting. Judge Ben Gubbins also noted the ‘promise’ offered by Osorno in the south.

In general, the diversity of origins in the top-scoring wines was notable in this tasting, with quality to be found from Atacama and Limarí in the north to Malleco and Osorno in the deep south. The latter regions tended to deliver understated aromas yet intense palate profiles, while Atacama and Limarí majored on peppery, almost saline characters and great vibrancy.

The best Sauvignons from coastal terroirs such as Leyda, San Antonio, Casablanca and Aconcagua combined aromatic lift with structure and layers of flavour.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores from the Chilean Sauvignon Blanc panel tasting

What didn’t find favour with judges were the bland styles of Sauvignon emanating from the Central Valley. ‘Why bother keeping on making Sauvignon in the Central Valley?!’ bemoaned Gubbins, while Dirceu Vianna Junior MW identified Curicó as a particular culprit in this regard.

Stylistically, the wines fell into three broad camps. There were the neutral styles mentioned above – Sauvignon for Pinot Grigio lovers, you might say, gluggable yet forgettable. Then there was a raft of zingy, tangy wines, clearly picked early and majoring on freshness, many of which ultimately proved lean and simplistic. Finally, the best wines: picked neither too early nor too late, with freshness and complexity, and often some ambition evident in the winemaking (for example, use of concrete eggs, discreet oak or intelligent work with the lees).

‘There were some good wines,’ was Vianna’s ultimate verdict, ‘from people who showed ambition, with lower yields or judicious oak.’ Gubbins commented: ‘Some producers are overcompensating, picking early for freshness but it can often prove sour, tart and shrill.’ Judges also picked up on the ability of the best wines to age and develop. ‘If the wines are made well, they can age nicely,’ said Vianna, who was ‘pleasantly surprised by some of the older vintages’. Gubbins added that wineries should consider library releases for top wines.

See all 42 wines from the Chilean Sauvignon Blanc panel tasting

Given all of this, it’s clear that finding a good producer is the key when it comes to getting the best out of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignon is Chile’s second most planted wine grape, so it’s inevitable there will be variability in quality. As Vianna commented: ‘There were a lot of ordinary wines.’

Consistency across the board is clearly not a feature of this category, with too many bland or simplistic wines. In short, it’s worth doing your homework to find quality and value.

It’s clear that improvements need to be made in the engine room of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. Yet those doing a laudable job are showing the way – proving that with good plant material in well-suited, cool sites and sensitive, ambitious winemaking, Sauvignon Blanc can shine in Chile. That this tasting was an improvement over the last such tasting in 2018 is a sign that progress is possible.

Chilean Sauvignon Blanc panel tasting scores

The judges

Peter Richards MW is the DWWA Regional Chair for Chile. An awarded broadcaster and writer with a focus on Chilean wine, he is co-creator and presenter of wine and travel series The Wild Side of Wine on winemasters.tv and, with his wife Susie Barrie MW, he co-hosts the chart-topping Wine Blast podcast.

Ben Gubbins is general manager and WSET wine educator at Vagabond Wines in London. A native of Chile, he previously worked as UK & Europe sales director for Dos Andes Wines before joining Vagabond in 2013.

Dirceu Vianna Junior MW is a wine writer, consultant and educator. Moving to the UK from Brazil in 1989, he was a director at some of the UK’s top distributors, becoming a Master of Wine in 2008, then co-authoring the awarded Portuguese- language book Conheça Vinhos (‘Understanding Wine’, Editora Senac).

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