Casillero Del Diablo makes this one in the Limarí Valley, a thin, cool strip of northern Chile where vineyards sit close enough to the Pacific to feel it. The Reserva Privada is the estate's own selection from that valley, and 2022 gave it a tighter, more mineral edge than the warmer central regions usually deliver.
- Sauvignon Blanc, picked in the Limarí Valley.
- 2022, a cool vintage in northern Chile.
- Dry, light-bodied, high in acidity.
- 13% alcohol, 750ml bottle.
How it is made
Limarí is a desert valley cut by the Limarí River, and the vineyards that do best there are the ones closest to the coast, where morning fog rolls in off the Pacific and burns off by midday. That swing between cold nights and sunny afternoons is what keeps the grapes acidic and the flavours sharp. Sauvignon Blanc picks up the valley's chalky soils in the mouth as much as in the ground.
How it tastes
Grapefruit and lime zest up front, then green herbs and a wet stone finish that lingers longer than the light body suggests. The acidity is high and stays high, so the wine reads crisp rather than soft. There is real concentration here for a white at this weight.
Where it comes from
Chile's Limarí Valley sits about 400 kilometres north of Santiago, closer to the Atacama than to the Central Valley most Chilean wine comes from. It is one of the country's newer fine-wine regions, and it has built its reputation on Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc rather than the reds Chile is known for.
