The Leyda Valley is located in Chile just 55 miles West of Santiago. A fairly new growing area, established in 1997, the region was previously dedicated to barley and wheat. The Leyda Valley is a sub-region in the San Antonio Valley that was grated an independent appellation status thanks to the styles of wine that are produced. Influenced by the Humboldt Current, which flows from the West coast of the country to Antarctic, the Leyda Valley is located at a latitude of 33°, making it closer to the equator. The geography of the sub-region consists of rolling hills and is 600 feet above sea level. The clay soils lie over a granite base and receive moderate drainage. The fairly cool and dry climate caused man-made irrigation to become a necessity with water being brought in from the Maipo River. The project was made possible by four wealthy founders. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc were the first vines that were planted. Experimentation is still underway with Syrah, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Vern, and Riesling joining the original grape varieties. Today the sub-region has a total of 216 hectares with Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay thriving. The future of the region looks very promising, especially with the addition of Merlot.
Siegel Special Reserva Sauvignon Blanc Leyda is made from 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc
The grapes for the Gran Reserva wines are the product of a careful selection of Siegel's best vineyards in the Colchagua Valley, harvested by hand, and revealing a strong expression of the land.
The Gran Reserva wines represent the union of tradition and innovation in two generations. The grapes are sourced through careful selection of their best vineyards in the cool coastal Leyda Valley region. Siegel Gran Reserva Sauvignon Blanc offers a pale yellow color with green hues and reveals intense and complex aromas of grapefruit and pear accented by mineral notes. The palate is balanced and juicy with a vibrant acidity and a soft, lingering finish.
#32 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2023
Delicate red in color. The incredibly expressive bouquet offers notes of sandalwood, herbs de Provence, and Red Delicious apples. On the palate, freshly picked red huckleberries provide tart and lasting succulence with a hint of baking spice. The sandy soils of the Chehalem Mountains offer salinity and minerality on the finish that is complemented with dark cherry and rhubarb.
Review:
Supple, richly textured and elegantly complex, this Pinot opens with a burst of fresh raspberry, then unfolds with notes of forest floor and brown baking spices, plus a touch of licorice as it builds tension toward refined tannins.
-Wine Spectator 95 Points
The first impression of this stunning red is of brilliant red raspberry fruit, as pure as a sunbeam. Yet an inky depth plays counterpoint, rumbling beneath, dark and a bit spicy, grounding the fruit with tannins from the silica-based soils of Bergström’s estate vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains. The tension between these two elements is gorgeous, the fruit saturating and full, and yet it has an energy and drive giving the texture a lifted, graceful feel.
-Wine & Spirits 95 Points
Fayolle Crozes-Hermitage Rouge La Rochette is made from 25-year-old vines planted on loess and red granitic soils. 100% Syrah.
Deep ruby red color.
The wine has plenty to offer with red and black fruit aromas, as well as a good minerality.
The finish is long, clean and juicy and offers some white pepper spiciness typical of the best Crozes-Hermitage.
Soil type is red brittle granite and white soil.
Hand harvested in small crates. The grapes are then pumped into tanks (full cluster, not destemmed).
It will stay in this tank for 15 days for the skin contact maceration and the Alcoholic fermentation.
They will also use the "rack and return" technique (delestage).
Then the wine is transfered into neutral French Oak barrels where the wine will complete the Malo-Lactic fermentation.