NEW WORLD: Sauvignon Blanc, Chile
2019 Gold 4 Silver 5 Bronze 3 Commended 11
2018 Gold 2 Silver 3 Bronze 7 Commended 7
In a wine style that, not to put too fine a point on it, all but crashed and burned this year, Chile was the one bright spot. The country secured the same number of medals for Sauvignon Blanc as last year, and the most Golds since the competition started.
It did it, moreover, at the kind of prices that sommeliers think they ought to be paying for a young, unoaked wine. Only one of our medal winners was over £10, with many of them well below that level.
There’s an ongoing battle in Chile between Casablanca, the great white hope of 20 years ago, and Leyda, the contender for the past decade. The former (perhaps surprisingly) has tended to shade things in the Sommelier Wine Awards, but this year Leyda totally outperformed its rival valley. Sea breezes and a kind of herbal, minty freshness was enough for three out of the four Golds to come from here, with the other an exceptionally well-priced effort from the Central Valley.
If you’re looking for sub-£30 Sauvignon for your list, this is probably the section for you.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘In previous years we’ve had some watery, weak wines here, but today we had some good examples, in a diverse array of styles, including a delicate light style, more concentrated wines, some more vegetal and herbaceous, and one in a more oaked style – and all at a good price. There’s a little more value and quality here now.’ Andres Ituarte, team leader
‘I especially like the lighter style of these, and the freshness. Particularly by the glass, they’re very easy to drink, and also easy to sell. I liked the unoaked, citrusy examples, with elegance and nice acidity.’ Corina Stanila, La Dame de Pic at Ten Trinity Square
‘There’s a new coastal style in the last couple years that has a slightly minty, pea characteristic. It gives freshness and gives them identity.’ Michael Fiducia, The Royal Automobile Club
‘You can feel there’s a lot of winemaking going on. It’s moving towards that commercial side, rather than being led by the fruit. Though all pretty good value.’ Sunaina Sethi, JKS Restaurants
‘Great consistency, the wines showed well: crisp, light, fresh, we were impressed with the lower end. A couple are trying to do a Loire Valley style, but at those prices you’d be better off drinking Sancerre.’ Emanuel Pesqueira, consultant
‘[The Casablanca flight] were perfectly OK Chilean Sauvignon, though without anything to get excited about.’ Sarah Jane Evans MW, team leader