Viña
Leyda, Leyda Valley
Exploring Chile's diversity, part 2
Website: www.leyda.cl

The El Granito vineyard
Viña
Leyda is, in my opinion, one of Chile’s most exciting producers. I
spent half a day here, beginning with a tour of the newly planted El
Granito vineyard, just 3 km from the coast, followed with lunch and
a tasting of the full range.

Gustavo Llona
We
were shown round by managing director Gustavo Llona, who, along with
the Fernandes family, was the original owner of Viña Leyda from its
inception in 1997. After a decade, in 2007 Viña Leyda was acquired
by Viña Tabalí, which itself is owned jointly by the San Pedro
group and Guillermo Luksic (50%), but they wisely retained Gustavo
and the rest of the production team. We also met with winemaker Viviana Navarrete, and viticulturalist
Ignacio Casali.

Ignacio Casali in a pit
Viña
Leyda is the pioneering winery in the Leyda region of Chile. The
original vineyard, which was planted in 1998, was both the region
and the vineyard. The greatest challenge facing Gustavo and his team
was getting water out here, and this required the construction of an
8 km pipeline.
The
original vineyard is on a 113 hectare property, with 87 hectares
planted. Because the vineyards are on the west (sea-facing) side of
the coastal mountain range, nothing blocks the maritime influence,
so it’s quite a bit cooler than nearby Casablanca, on the other
side of the hills.

The sea is visible from here
The
initial results Leyda got (first vintage 2001) alerted others to the
potential of this infant region, and it has grown fast. Now there
are more than 900 hectares of vines. But without water, you simply
can’t plant here, which explains why there’s a five-fold
difference in land prices with or without water rights. There’s
plenty of space for further growth, but water is restricting
this.
The
climate here is consistently cool, with average daily maximum
temperatures of 23.5 °C in January and February. Also, these
maximum periods are quite brief. The soils are stony, alluvial and
free draining with a high clay component.

Viviana Navarrete, winemaker
The
new vineyards at El
Granito are even cooler, by about a degree, due to the proximity of
the ocean, which can be viewed from the property. There are 90
hectares here, and the idea is to plant 75 ha. So far, 62 hectares
have been planted. The majority of the plantings are new clone Pinot
Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, a bit of Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon
Gris. Vines are planted both grafted and ungrafted.
THE
WINES

Tasted at the winery,
December 2010:
Viña
Leyda Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2010 Leyda Valley
A blend of clones: 1, which is austere and structured, 242 which
gives tropical fruit but is a bit short, and 107 which is more
green/citric and has length. Yields 9 ton/hectare. Very fresh and
bright with a piercing citrussy nose. The palate is pure and fruity,
transparent and crisp, and shows lively acidity. Lovely precision.
90/100
Viña
Leyda Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Garuma 2010 Leyda Valley
Just clone 1, harvested 7 tons/hectare, with 12 h skin contact.
Very pure and precise with some grapefruit freshness and just a hint
of greenness. Real purity and elegance with some mineral notes.
91/100
Viña
Leyda Single Vineyard Sauvignon Gris Kadun 2010 Leyda Valley
Quite powerful and citrussy with some smoky intensity. The
palate is herby and intense with some citrus notes as well as melon
richness. Powerful and broad with some spiciness. 90/100
Viña
Leyda Reserva Chardonnay 2010 Leyda Valley
Very fresh and lively with notes of grapefruit and citrus. Pure
with lovely freshness and minerality. 100% stainless steel, no oak.
88/100
Viña
Leyda Single Vineyard Chardonnay Falaris 2009 Leyda Valley
This is made from juice cleaned with enzymes at 300 NTU, from
fruit from an east facing vineyard cropped at 6 tons/hectare. Lovely
toasty, citrussy nose is very fine with bright fruit and real
precision. Lovely nut, honey and toast edge to the ripe peach and
pear fruit. 91/100
Viña
Leyda Lot 5 Chardonnay 2009 Leyda Valley
Southwest facing vineyard, made in an oxidative style without
clearing the juice. No malolactic. Sophisticated with fine toast and
nut notes on the nose, leading to a palate showing broad, nutty,
spicy, toasty flavours. Rich but fresh. Rounded and harmonious, with
some peach and pear notes and mineral finish. 94/100
Viña
Leyda Costero Riesling 2010 Leyda Valley
Fresh, lemony, limey nose. Fine with some crystalline fruit and
spice notes. The palate is fresh and bright with lemony notes and
lovely precision. Subtle pithiness and flinty notes too. pH 2.98,
25g/l residual sugar. 88/100
Viña
Leyda Single Vineyard Pinot Noir Rosé Loica 2010 Leyda Valley
Pink fruity and fresh with nice bright cherry fruit and good
acidity. This is a successful attempt to make a serious rosé, with
juice cleaned to 120 NTU and fermented cold after a short
maceration. There’s some richness here, but it’s food friendly.
88/100
Viña
Leyda Single Vineyard Pinot Noir Las Brisas 2009 Leyda Valley
Very bright, fresh and vibrant with cherry and raspberry fruit.
Precise and fresh with a bit of meaty, spicy character. 90/100
Viña
Leyda Single Vineyard Pinot Noir Cahuil 2009 Leyda Valley
Fresh, vibrant black cherry fruit nose. Some elegance on the
palate: berry and cherry fruit dominate. Nice intensity. 93/100
Viña
Leyda Lot 21 Pinot Noir 2009 Leyda Valley
Dense but really elegant with nice full red cherry and berry
fruits. Elegant, minerally and precise with a nice savouriness.
Beautiful fruit quality and good tannins: a serious wine. 95/100
Viña
Leyda Costero Syrah 2009 Leyda Valley
Syrah was planted here in 2005. Picked at 5 tons/hectare in the
middle of May. This entry level version is berryish, vivid and
bright with notes of olive, meat, pepper and medicine. The palate is
vivid with white pepper and spice notes. A lovely edgy, vibrant
wine. 90/100
Viña
Leyda Single Vineyard Syrah Canelo 2008 Leyda Valley
5.5 ton/hectare. Refined, pure, intense blackberry and black
cherry fruit with good concentration and nice pepperiness. Bold,
powerful, grippy and edgy this is a delicious wine with real
personality, and I love it. 93/100

Older
notes from September 2009:
Viña Leyda
Lot 21 Pinot Noir 2008
Very aromatic nose of sweet, fresh berry and cherry fruit with a
subtle greenness. The palate has lovely bright pure red fruits with
a berryish edge. Subtly herby, but pure. 91/100
Viña Leyda
Lot 5 Chardonnay 2008
Very rich, broad, elegant nose – nutty, mealy and taut, with
rich fruit. The palate is similarly broad with lovely bold nutty
notes and sweet fruit, but despite the size it is still balanced and
fresh. 92/100
Viña Leyda
Single Vineyard Pinot Noir Las Brisas 2008
Lovely stuff: pure, bright and fruity. Very bright aromatic,
floral red berry and cherry fruit nise. The palate shows lovely
bright fresh berry fruit with some spicy complexity. Stylish and
elegant. 90/100
Viña Leyda
Single Vineyard Pinot Noir Rosé Loica 2009
Deep pink in colour. Very fresh bright aromatic nose is youthful
and pure. The palate shows bright cherry fruit with lovely focus.
Delicious. 88/100
Viña Leyda
Single Vineyard Syrah Canelo 2007
Fresh, floral cool climate Syrah nose of dark fruits with some
spice and pepper. Lovely purity and focus. The palate shows fresh,
peppery dark cherry and raspberry fruit with a hint of meatiness.
Lovely definition. 91/100
Viña Leyda
Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Garuma 2009
Taut, fresh nose is bright and aromatic, leading to a palate
with warm, rich tropical fruit combined with grassy freshness.
Rounded and textured with a chalky, spicy finish. 90/100 (this is
stocked by Waitrose in the UK at £8.99)
Viña Leyda
Single Vineyard Chardonnay Falaris Hill 2008
Lovely complex nutty nose. Broad but rich palate with focus and
complexity, showing nutty, toasty notes and good acidity. 91/100
Viña Leyda
Single Vineyard Sauvignon Gris Kadun 2009
Aromatic and bright with a touch of greenness. The palate is
richly textured with sweet melon and pear fruit as well as some
spiciness. Lovely richness here. 91/100
Viña Leyda
Single Vineyard Riesling Neblina 2008
Beautifully aromatic, limey nose with some sweet, rich, spicy
notes. The palate is rich and spicy with intense, herby, limey notes
and some honeyed richness. 90/100
Viña Leyda
Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Lovely bright aromatics: fresh, focused, nicely green and
chalky. The palate is fresh and bright with lovely vibrant,
expressive fruit: lemon, pear, grapefruit and a bit of peach. 89/100
Viña Leyda
Reserva Chardonnay 2008
Distinctly nutty, lemony fruit here. Nicely textured with some
richness. Fresh and fruit forward with some personality. 88/100
UK
agent: www.greatwesternwine.com
CHILE'S
DIVERSITY
Part
1, Dos Andes: Veranda and Agustinos, Bio Bio
Part
2, Viña Leyda, Leyda
Part
3, Viña Ventisquero, Apalta
Part
4, Viña Tabalí, Limarí
Part
5, Casas del Bosque, Casablanca
Part
6, Viña Falernia/Mayu, Elqui
See
also:
Visiting
Chile's wine regions (a series from a visit in 2008)
Find these wines with wine-searcher.com
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