Errazuriz MAX Chardonnay Reserva 2017 / 750 ml.

Aromas of cooked apples and pie crust and floral undertones make for a ripe nose. Full and soft on the palate with plenty of fleshy stone fruit, but the crunchy acidity carries this through to a driven finish. Drink now. Screw cap.

The first Chardonnay I tasted from Errázuriz, the 2017 Max Reserva Chardonnay has moderate alcohol and high acidity, produced in an austere, mineral and fresh style. It fermented in oak barrels, with some 30% of the volume going through malolactic, and then it matured in barriques for 11 months. I was really impressed by this wine, which set the pace for the style of the 2017s. It was a warm year, and they managed to take advantage of that to get their fruit to ripen early by controlling yields, and they think they really got the harvesting dates right. The wines are sharp and fresh, unlike the general character of the year. They didn’t have any influence from the terrible fires that decimated the country. In fact, in Aconcagua Costa 2016 was slightly warmer than 2017. This has the pure and fresh style they are getting famous for—crisp, with integrated oak, transparency, verticality and minerality on a vibrant and focused palate. Great Chardonnay at a great price. 150,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2018.