Santa Rita Floresta Sauvignon Blanc 2015 Leyda Valley, Chile 75cl

Floresta is Vina Santa Rita’s premium, terroir-focused range, reserved for its finest vineyard parcels. It sits well above the winery’s everyday labels and is made to express a specific place rather than simply a grape.

This Sauvignon Blanc comes from the Leyda Valley, part of the coastal San Antonio region, where cold ocean air and morning fog slow ripening and preserve acidity. Those cool-climate conditions give the grape a taut, mineral, distinctly maritime character, and a light touch of oak, around five months, adds a little texture without masking the fruit.

The 2015 vintage shows the range’s more serious, structured side. This is not a simple quaffer but a Sauvignon Blanc with depth and a sense of place, built to reward a little attention in the glass rather than to be drunk without a second thought. It is the kind of white that can change a few minds about what Chilean Sauvignon Blanc is capable of.

Expect taut citrus and green fruit lifted by herbal, wet-stone notes and a saline, mineral thread. The palate is precise and cool, with firm acidity, a subtle creamy texture from the oak, and a long, savoury finish. It drinks well now and has the structure to develop further over a year or two.

Santa Rita’s Floresta wines are regularly reviewed by the international press, including Decanter, and this bottling sits among Chile’s more ambitious whites. Serve it with oysters, ceviche, grilled fish or roast chicken. If you enjoy structured, mineral Sauvignon Blanc from cool coastal sites, such as the Loire or Marlborough, this is a rewarding example.