Roberto Henriquez 2020 Corinto Super Estrella 750ml

From a block of co-planted old vines (there are also varieties of Torrontes and Moscatel Rosado, and I’m very much looking forward to bottlings of those) on Itata’s granitic soils, the Corinto Super Estrella is 100% Corinto or Chasselas. Corinto is the first variety to be harvested here, and Roberto Henriquez leaves it longer on its skins than his other wines. If there is a wine that convinced me that Roberto is doing something uniquely exciting in Itata and Bío Bío, this is the wine. Delicate herbal aromatics mingle with white peach, Bosc pear, salt and stone on the nose, while the finely tuned palate shows bright acidity and similar fruit notes with white strawberries and fennel. But what really sticks with me is the minerality here – just explosive granitic power: somehow simultaneously cool and spicy, it endures on the palate long after wine is gone. This was outstanding with Chinese food last week, from bok choy to fried anchovies, but I imagine it would be truly versatile at the table. Unlike any expression of Chasselas that I have encountered, but certainly none the worse for that! 11.5% alcohol.

-- chambersstwines.com