Viña Leyda Single Vineyard 'Kadun' Sauvignon Gris 2013

There is a certain dignity about this wine. We prefer to think of it more as a slightly older lady, who has led a charmed, intellectual life and has many stories tell. She wears an enchanting, gently spicy perfume and lives in a grand, tumbledown house, half way up a mountain, filled with exotic plants that fill the air with a ripe, tropical fragrance. She invites you to supper and serves up a platter of grilled octopus with a fresh salad. Perfect. Thank you, mystery lady.

The recently discovered Leyda Valley is located just 12km from the Pacific Ocean, making it a unique spot for viticulture. Its cool spring and summer, tempered by the maritime climate, make it an extraordinary area for the development of varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling.

Winemaker Viviana Navarrete joined as Viña Leyda’s Chief Winemaker in 2007. A high achiever in her year at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, she started working for Concha y Toro, doing her first her student practice, then for another four years as winemaker assistant for Ignacio Recabarren. At that time, she started to work closely with Leyda Valley wines, where she got involved with interesting new developments, specializing in the elaboration of premium white wines.

The Sauvignon Gris Single vineyard, Kadun, comes from the selection of two blocks in Leyda Valley from their own vineyard. These blocks undergo canopy management, which allowd air to circulate more freely, this avoiding Botritys (a normal problem in cool climates) and protecting the clusters from direct sun exposure.

The vinification techniques consists of making a cluster selection and then soft pressing whole clusters in a pneumatic press, separating the free-run juice for this Single Vineyard Kadun. The juice is then fermented 80% in stainless steel tank at around 13.5C, for 18 days. 20% of the wine ferments in 400 litre, used French oak barrels in order to enhance the structure of the palate.

Sauvignon Gris is an exotic and interesting variety, which Viña Leyda have been growing for 10 years. Expressive and exotic, this Sauvignon Gris shows the minerality of Leyda, together with tropical fruit and spices as white pepper and ginger. On the palate it has a round and creamy texture, juicy acidity with soft smokiness that adds wonderful complexity. It is great with more flavoursome seafood such as grilled Octopus.