The Magellanic penguins make their home in the grassy islands off the South American Pacific coast, not far from our vineyards. Our Magellan is a crisp oasis in a sea of typical one-note, over-oaked chardonnays. Magellan is processed in stainless steel, rather than wood, creating a delicate and refreshing wine that can be enjoyed on its own or as a complement to a spectrum of cuisines.
Our vineyard’s westernmost end is just 17 miles from the coast. The cool Pacific Ocean breezes and occasional morning fog keep the temperatures down, helping to extend the ripening season. In 2007, we had good weather throughout the entire growing season and into late summer. In January we green harvested to thin out extra bunches and immature development, thus reducing yields and concentrating on two bunches per vine. All harvesting was done by hand and only whole, ripe, loose bunches were selected.
Pressing was done by pneumatic method to avoid bitter tannins from the seeds and stems. The free flow juice was then placed in the temperature controlled stainless steel tanks for two days, where it was cold macerated to extract the fruit flavours and aromas. The skins were then separated from the must. The Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc juices were fermented at a temperature of 23°C, which lasted for ten days. After fermentation, the wine spent three months on their lees to add complexity and notes of toasted bread aromas and flavours. The varietals were then blended and cold stabilized before filtering through Diatomaceous earth to remove most of the lees. We believe that minimum filtering preserves the intrinsic flavours that express the land and climate of this unique terrior in Chile.