The 2019 Chardonnay Amelia was harvested in Quebrada Seca, Limari, during a sunny year. Overseen by oenologist Marcelo Papa and made in a Burgundy style, it is aged for 12 months in French barrels, one-fifth of them new. Yellow with golden flecks. The intense but still austere aromas include lime, herbs, ginger and honey and hints of acacia. The mouth is where it really comes into its own: direct, with packaged freshness and texture, the work with the lees rounds everything off with a long, elegant, saline finish and a hint of smoke. A cerebral, thoroughly enjoyable white.

I tasted two vintages from the amazing selection of Chardonnay from Quebrada Seca in Limarí, and even if the parameters of the 2019 Amelia Chardonnay reveal a little more acidity and freshness (pH), the wine shows a little riper, always within the very fresh style of this bottling since it changed its origin in 2017. But it follows the path of freshness, minerality and elegance of the amazing 2018, bright and crystalline, marked by the soils rich in calcium carbonate that give a chalky texture and a drying sensation and some salinity in the finish. Nevertheless, the vines are only some 20 kilometers from the ocean and have a great marine influence through the morning fog.

Heavily toasted oak on the nose creates loud aromas of resin, butter and vanilla, leaving fruit and minerality to fight to be noticed. Resiny barrel-based tannins thicken the mouthfeel on this Limarí Chardonnay, while apple and peach flavors are largely covered by oak character. Lively acidity and textural weight control the finish. Drink through 2022.

This white offers ripe apple, glazed pear and apricot flavors, with lots of buttery accents. The creamy finish has plenty of toasty richness. Drink now.