Premium South American whites: panel tasting results

Amanda Barnes, Ben Gubbins and Dirceu Vianna Junior MW tasted 75 wines, with six Outstanding and 48 Highly recommended.

Premium South American whites panel tasting scores

75 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 6

Highly recommended 48

Recommended 21

Commended 0

Fair 0

Poor 0

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit white wines with availability in the UK or US priced at £20/$20 or above, single varietal or blends, from any grape and any vintage

I’m giving scores of above 90 like I’ve never given before!’ exclaimed fellow panel taster Dirceu Vianna Junior MW, as we were getting to the end of a long, but delicious day of tasting. ‘I have been involved with Decanter for more than 10 years and I cannot remember such a success rate.’

Vianna was not alone in his enthusiasm. Together we tasted 75 wines, and 72% of those wines scored 90 points or above. At Decanter, that means it is a wine that has complexity and precision – a benchmark wine. Anything that touches, or even nearly touches, Gold at 95pts is not only exemplary but thrilling. And we tasted some thrilling wines.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top-scoring premium South American whites

Chardonnay, the great terroir interpreter, is certainly serving as testimony to the increasing mastery of South America’s winemakers. ‘Clearly Chardonnay is finding its feet in terms of terroir, viticulture and winemaking in South America to produce wines that can now proudly sit among the world’s most delectable,’ commented Ben Gubbins. ‘Limarí, Aconcagua Costa and Gualtallary are producing Chardonnays of real elegance and personality, and while stylistically nodding towards Burgundy, each distinctly reflects its unique terroir.’

While we had a diverse spread of wine regions from across Argentina, Chile and Uruguay (sadly nothing from Brazil), there was one that stood out for top quality across the board. ‘There were some delicious wines from Argentina and Uruguay, but overall Chile was clearly the country that seems to be showing more ambition,’ summarised Vianna. ‘Within Chile, the area that impressed me the most was Limarí for its sheer quality and class. The wines were characterful, displayed great concentration and wonderful freshness.’

That being said, our top Chardonnay was from Aconcagua Costa. So there are always exceptions to the rule. And while we also had some excellent Sauvignon Blanc wines in the tasting, it was some of the less common varieties that stood out for their fantastic potential and distinction.

One of my favourite wines in the tasting was a gloriously textured, spicy and complex Chenin Blanc from Maule. And there were some stellar Semillons that really showed purity and focus. We also had some really enjoyable wines from Riesling, Pedro Ximinez, Albariño, Torrontés and Petit Manseng.

Winemaking techniques were delightfully diverse – some with a bit of skin contact, others with richness from lees work, and oak clearly taking a back seat in most of the top wines. It was this diversity of styles, varieties and regions that made the tasting so thrilling. ‘South America’s blessing of diversity of terroir is only just at the beginning of what promises to be a very interesting, exciting trip ahead,’ concluded Gubbins.

South America may well be dominated by its red wines in volume, but, as this tasting showed, make way for South America’s premium whites. They may have been a long time coming, but South America’s premium white wines are here to stay. And there are more than a few that deserve a space at the high table.

The top-scoring premium South American whites:

The judges

Amanda Barnes is a writer and presenter specialising in South American travel and wine. A DWWA judge, she is author of the award-winning South America Wine Guide (£35 southamericawineguide.com).

Ben Gubbins is general manager and WSET wine educator at Vagabond Wines in London. A native of Chile, he was previously with UK wine merchant Oddbins, moving into the buying department in 2010, then working as UK & Europe sales director for Dos Andes Wines before joining Vagabond in 2013.

Dirceu Vianna Junior MW is a wine writer, consultant, educator and broadcaster. Moving to the UK in 1989, he spent much of his career as wine director for some of the UK’s most prominent wine distributors, and in 2008 he became the first South American male to obtain the Master of Wine title.

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