Santa Isabel Chardonnay/Viognier
2007
The fruity, floral aromas of spiced pear, apple blossom and vanilla come from the Viognier while the tropical fruit flavors and crisp golden apple flavors on the palate come from the Chardonnay. This luscious wine is medium-bodied with a crisp, citrusy finish.
89
$10.50 / Bottle $126.00 / Case
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Santa Isabel continues to shine with this beautiful blend of Chardonnay and Viognier. The winery has a reputation for maintaining very high standards in both the vineyards and the cellar. While they’ve got the best winemaking technology money can buy, the bodega’s real strength lies in their high-altitude vineyards.
Looking across the vineyards towards the Andes from Nieto’s front porch.
At altitudes ranging from 2,800-3,300 ft. above sea level the air is clear and the sunshine is intense. It is the combination of bright, warm sunny days with cool nights that is particularly favorable to white grape varietals like Chardonnay and Viognier.
Santa Isabel’s Chardonnay and Viognier come from a 17.5 acre vineyard in the Carrodilla and Tupungato Valleys planted in 1997 through 1999. The terroir is a sandy limestone combination.
This being the southern hemisphere, the harvest is carried out in March and April. The winemaking team of Roberto Gonzalez and Tommy Hughes is led by world-famous consulting oenolgist Alberto Antonini.
With raw materials like these, the winemakers prefer to allow the natural characteristics of the fruit to shine through in the wine. The grapes are harvested separately at the pinnacle of ripeness. At the winery, they are fed into a pneumatic press where they’re gently squeezed to extract the juice.
Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks over a period of 15 days.
Following fermentation, the wine is blended, 60% Chardonnay and 40% Viognier and allowed to age for three months in stainless steel tanks. Unlike Santa Isabel’s Malbec, the white wines do not ever see any oak aging. It’s all about the purity of the fruit’s natural flavors! The wine is aged another 1 to 3 months in bottle before release.
This lovely wine can be enjoyed on its own or served with Asian cuisines or with chicken kebabs or grilled fish.