T.H. Sauvignon Blanc (Leyda)

James Suckling, Feb/2023

2022 -

"Pretty pronounced grassy nose with plenty of guavas and gooseberries. Quite pure and Leyda-like with its herbal, grassy tone and asparagus. Round and fruity but dry on the medium-bodied palate, with a saline twist in the finish. Drink now. Screw cap."

Decanter World Wine Awards 2022

2022 -

"Citrusy nose with aromas of fresh cut grass and mineral nuances. Fruit driven, citrusy acidity."

Decanter, Jul/22

2021 -

"The Leyda vines for this TH bottling are 14 km inland, so are cooled by ocean breezes, and benefit from a high diurnal temperature range. The Sauvignon Blanc vines used are 95% Davis I clone with the remaining 5% being French 107. After a pre-fermentation cold soak, 95% of the must was fermented in stainless steel and the remaining 5% in used French oak barrels. The wine was then aged on its fine lees for five months before bottling. Amanda Barnes: Textural, mineral and subtle in style, this is a sophisticated Sauvignon Blanc with drive. Mouthwatering and slightly chalky on the finish. Ben Gubbins MW: Asparagus and stone fruit, capsicum, touch of sour cream. Full-bodied, textured but vibrant at the same time, lively zesty fruit and a long finish with notes of grass and green apple. Dirceu Vianna Junior MW: Delicious, vibrant, exotic with intense notes of passion fruit, guava and citrus. Great concentration with creamy texture and racy freshness."

Antonio Galloni's Vinous, Jun/2022

2021 -

"The 2021 Sauvignon Blanc T.H. from Leyda is 7% aged in neutral wood for 5 months. Coastal in character, it's yellow in glass, with a nose of gentle rue and jalapeño notes alongside hazelnut aromas. Indulgent and fatty with vibrant freshness, this is an unusually linear wine for Chile." 

Tim Atkin MW, Chile Special Report 2022

2021 -

Decanter, Mar/2023

2021 -

"Classy and sophisticated combining the exuberance of tropical fruits, elegant herbaceousness and maturity of bottle age. Honeyed peas and green pepper, asparagus, mango, pineapple with a touch of anis and grapefruit rind."

James Suckling, May/2022

2021 -

"Medium-bodied with a fleshy, green-fruited palate."

Descorchados 2022

2020 -

"The warm 2020 vintage has not been generous in good coastal sauvignons, but of course there have been exceptions, like this one, for example. It's 100% sauvignon from vines planted in 2007 on the granite slopes that, in this case, include calcium carbonate, in the Coastal Mountains in Leyda. It's 90% clone 1, which is no minor detail because it produces very sharp wines driven by acidity, which helps in hot years. The wine is sharp, with citrusy acidity, deep flavors, very good concentration, and a long finish adorned with herbal aromas."

Tim Atkin MW, Chile Special Report 2021

2020 -

"Lightly wooded and aged on its lees for five months, this is much more than a run of the mill Sauvignon Blanc. Taut, crunchy and very mineral, with chiselled acidity, lime and green herb flavours and a refreshing, bone-dry finish. You can almost taste the sea." 

Wine & Spirits, Aug/2021

2020 -

"There’s clarity to this wine’s guava and mango notes, focused more in the flavor than in the aroma. Its Meyer lemon acidity will take on scallops roasted with cream, or shellfish vols-au-vent."

Wine Enthusiast, Mar/2022

2020 -

"Tropical fruit and citrus aromas are matched by a blast of sea breeze and ocean brine, with passion fruit and lime scents most pronounced. Citric acid and chalkiness anchor the mouthfeel, while familiar Leyda flavors of lime, tarragon and celery finish on a dime. "

Decanter World Wine Awards 2022

2020 -

"Understated and chalky but with bright salinity and stone fruit held together with good acidic tension. A lasting lemony finish."

Descorchados 2021

2019 -

"Based on clone 1, the first generation of sauvignon clones that arrived in Chile in the early 1990s and that produces severe and especially austere wines with very good acidity, this white has the imprint of that clonal material in its acidity and herbal notes. However, the warm year has added its own touches in the form of riper aromatic notes and especially the creamy mouthfeel. A wine for corvina ceviche."

Wine Enthusiast, Dec/2020

2019 -

"A bright nose delivers a shot of fresh lime backed by cilantro, vanilla and sea spray. A sleek and juicy palate is cut by piercing acidity, while lime, tangerine and tarragon flavors wrap up on a cleansing finish. This shows all the attributes of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc at its best."

Wine & Spirits, Aug/2020

2019 -

"This starts out as a complex plaid of persimmon, smoky pork broth and fruit acidities. Then it slowly calms down over the course of 24 hours, still intense, but more about fresh green lime and mouthwatering refreshment—a juicy, summery white for any fresh catch."

Descorchados 2020

2018 -

"For this T.H., winemaker Rafael Urrejola selects grapes from a sector of Undurraga’s vineyard in Leyda with limestone-rich soils primarily planted to clone 1, the first sauvignon clonal material that came to Chile in the early 1990s and known for its acidity and impressive body. Here you can taste that tense, firm, acidic character, heightened perhaps by those chalky soils that tend to add more sharpness, more tension. A juicy, refreshing wine with hard bones."

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Feb/2020

2018 -

The new 2018 T.H. Sauvignon Blanc Limarí was produced with grapes from the Fray Jorge vineyard, which was planted in 2006 in the coastal part of Limarí (they abandoned the Sauvignon Blanc from Lo Abarca, but they continue with Leyda) next to a national park of the same name. Here, 2018 was one of the coolest vintages of the last few years, and there is a big influence from the sea (which is just 12 kilometers away) with misty mornings and a constant sea breeze. The soils are rich in limestone, as it's a marine terrace. It's a very dry zone, with 30 to 100 liters of rain per year! The wine fermented with native yeasts in concrete eggs (80%) and 500-liter French oak barrels, where the wines matured for 10 months with the lees before being blended. It has a pungent nose with herbal and spicy notes with the marine influence and a sharp palate with a chalky texture, finishing dry, long and almost salty. This is a great addition to Undurraga's portfolio. 6,284 bottles were filled in March 2019.

Tim Atkin MW, Chile Special Report 2019

2018 -

Tim Atkin MW, Chile Special Report 2019

2017 -

Wine Enthusiast, Nov/2019

2017 -

"Crisp aromas of juniper, pine sap, citrus and pyrazines are pure Leyda, while this SB from a hot year still feels zesty and punchy. Lime, tarragon and lemongrass flavors wrap up on a minerally finish that carries a tangerine note and a hint of bitterness."

Gismondi on Wine, Nov/2019

2017 -

"Winner of the Best Chilean Sauvignon Blanc at the Decanter World Awards back in 2017, this label is a winner. Powered by Leyda fruit from a windy, west-facing vineyard a mere 14 kilometres from the cold Pacific Ocean, I love the citrus, the nettle, the grapefruit rind, smoky jalapeno, and the rush of passionfruit that floods your palate. New Zealand meets the Loire Valley, and you should too, with a bowl of mussels. Go Chile, so steady and so under appreciated."

James Suckling, Apr/2019

2017 -

"Attractive, ripe nectarine and mango aromas with very fresh and attractive lemon and lime notes that lead to a fresh palate with ripe mangoes and peaches. Drink now. Screw cap."

Decanter World Wine Awards 2019

2017 -

Bronze Medal "Wild meadow flower and green apple aromatics, bright acidity and a fine chalky finish to the palate."

Decanter World Wine Awards 2018

2016 -

Platinum Medal  "Expressive fennel, green pepper, lemon and ripe mandarin. Pure and flinty palate with focused, polished fruit. Finish is lingering and moreish."

Descorchados 2018

2016 -

Tim Atkin MW, Chile Special Report 2018

2016 -

James Suckling, Mar/2018

2016 -

"The pink grapefruit character makes this stand out from the crowd of Chilean sauvignon blanc. If this was a bit crisper and/or more elegant, then it would rate higher. Drink now. Screw cap."

International Wine Challenge 2018

2016 -

Bronze Medal "Full flavoured with good balance. Green apple and textured mouthfeel."

Wine & Spirits Magazine, Jun/2017

2015 -

"Rafael Urrejola works with a parcel at the Lomas de Leyda estate, where sauvignon blanc grows on a thin layer of clay over chalk. He ages a portion of the wine in older oak barrels, adding richness to the texture without diminishing the bold flavors of pineapple, lemon and green fig. A little reduced for now, with a touch of sweatiness in the green scallion edge, this is luscious and delicious, especially if decanted for a rich seafood stew."

Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate, Apr/2017

2015 -

"The 2015 TH Sauvignon Blanc Leyda is produced with grapes from limestone soils, a rarity, as most of the soils are granite-based. It was cold fermented in stainless steel vats with selected yeasts and kept in contact with the lees for six months before bottling. The clone used here (with more acidity, less topical and slow ripening) from the limestone-rich soils is diminished by the imprint from the soil. There are notes of gooseberries and spices, and the palate shows the chalky texture from the soils. This is young but very drinkable. I also tasted the 2007, the first vintage bottled, now ten years after the harvest, and the wine has developed complexity and evolved slowly, so there's no reason why the current wines should not age at least ten years. 25,345 bottles produced."

Wine Enthusiast, Jun/2017

2015 -

"This Leyda SB opens with textbook cool-climate aromas of snap pea, passion fruit and lime. A tangy pointy acidic palate deals the usual Leyda flavor suspects: citrus, bell pepper and jalapeño. This is consistent on the finish, but short."

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Dec/2015

2013 -

"The 2013 TH Sauvignon Blanc Leyda, where the soils are like a sandwich of 80 centimeters of red clay and a layer of chalk with marine fossils and granite underneath, is expressive and showy. It's a slope with 6,000 plants per hectare. The wine is quite aromatic with a strong herbal side, notes of gooseberries and fennel, and perhaps a faint tropical hint. Part of the grapes are fermented in large used barrels to try to contain acidity. Don't get me wrong, this is not a creamy Sauvignon and it's not sweet; its dry and sharp, with good balance, in fact."

Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, Dec/2015

2013 -

"The 2013 TH Sauvignon Blanc Leyda, where the soils are like a sandwich of 80 centimeters of red clay and a layer of chalk with marine fossils and granite underneath, is expressive and showy. It's a slope with 6,000 plants per hectare. The wine is quite aromatic with a strong herbal side, notes of gooseberries and fennel, and perhaps a faint tropical hint. Part of the grapes are fermented in large used barrels to try to contain acidity. Don't get me wrong, this is not a creamy Sauvignon and it's not sweet; its dry and sharp, with good balance, in fact."