Casas del Bosque Chardonnay Collection is a beautifully judged wine that shows off the rich expressive fruit character of the Chardonnay grape and perfectly balances it with subtle oak flavours. Half of the grape juice is fermented in used French barrels where they are aged for 9 months before blending to give lovely subtle smoky notes behind the fleshy apple, pear and citrus fruit. Notes of almonds come through on the palate where the wine is textured yet still lovely and fresh.

Casas del Bosque was founded in 1993 by Juan Cuneo Solari and was one of the first wineries to establish themselves in the Casablanca Valley. The valley benefits from cooler coastal conditions which is perfect for cool climate grape varieties like Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir & Syrah. Casas del Bosque now have 245 hectares of vines in Santa Rosa, on the west side of the Casablanca Valley which is dedicated to these varieties. Their Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere are produced from their own 35-year-old vines located in Quinta Tilcoco, in the more southerly Rapel Valley where the warmer climate helps ripen the grapes. For us, the wines had the perfect balance of ripe fruit and subtle elegance making them refined rather than sweet fruit bombs.