2018 Bodegas Volcanes Tectonia Chardonnay

With 2900 volcanoes, Chile has an enormous variety of volcanic soils, spread over the entire country. Bodega Volcanes was founded in 2009 to honor this unique aspect of the Chilean terroir. A Terroir Manager and Viticulturist were appointed to identify the best vineyards for wines with suspense and depth. Since 2018, a talented geologist who specializes in the influence of volcanic soil on the style of the wine has been employed. The winemaker María del Pilar Díaz has been involved in the project from the very beginning and has become an established name in the Chilean wine world.

The Volcanes Tectonia Chardonnay comes from a vineyard in the Malleco Valley. The bottom of this valley was formed during (relatively recent) volcanic eruptions and therefore consists of lava flow and especially volcanic ash. The Volcanes Tectonia has matured for 11 months in barrels of 10% new, 40% 1-year-old and 50% 2-year French oak.

The Volcanes Tectonia Chardonnay is one of the most beautiful Chillenian chardonnays and has received 91/100 points from James Suckling for a reason. This wine has a delicate style, partly due to the soils formed during the eruption of two nearby volcanoes. The color is golden yellow, the nose is medium intense and has notes of white peach, pear, quince and subtle notes of coconut and minerals. The taste is harmonious, with a fresh attack, a beautiful structure and a fine balance between acidity and ripe tones. Is it new world, is it old world - you name it. Elegance in a glass that's how we see it.

Bodega Volcanos

Bodega Volcanes is a project that started in 2009 and is part of the Grupo Vinos del Pacifico (GVP). A number of employees of this group came up with the idea of making a series of wines that had to come from vineyards with 100% soils of volcanic origin.

The five-person team included winemaker María del Pilar Díaz, geologist Gonzalo Hendriguez and terroir manager Agustín Aguerrea. They have selected three vineyards throughout Chile that they believe convey the ultimate expression of volcanic soil to the wines. In Rapel Valley this is a vineyard with soil of silt, clay and loam supplemented with coarser material such as Andesite stones (an outgrowth rock). In Maule Valley they have found a vineyard with a soil of (weathered) granite. In Malleco Valley, the vineyard is planted on a soil of so-called “Tolhuaco”, which consists of the ashes of a volcano. María Díaz strives to express the purity and minerality of the soils in the wines. This works very well, especially because (new) wood is never used excessively during fermentation and maturation. The wines are all lively and rich and have more complexity in aroma and taste than comparable wines from the same region.