2020 Las Pizarras Pinot Noir
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Tasting notes
The 2020 Las Pizarras Pinot Noir comes from the slate (pizarras) soils of coastal Aconcagua. The wine is made with some whole-bunch fermentation and aged in French oak. It is the top Pinot Noir bottling from Errázuriz. The wine has rich bramble fruit and toasty aromas matched by earthier, stemmy notes on the palate that integrate nicely with riper, raspberry fruit. There is a lovely glycerol-rich textural quality that is offset beautifully by the refreshing tannins – keeping the wine light on its feet. The wine has lovely poise, good levels of fruit purity as well as an overriding sense of freshness.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
The grapes for the 2020 Las Pizarras Pinot Noir were harvested early in February and fermented with 15% full clusters to lift up the wine, and the élevage was in 55% new barrels and was extended to 13 months. It has 13% alcohol, very good freshness, a pH of 3.55, which is low (but still higher than in cooler years), and a medium body. Often in the warm years, what I find is that in the shorter cycle the tannins don't achieve the same ripeness and elegance as in the cooler years. But they have adapted their irrigation, avoid notes of very ripe fruit and are more careful with the extraction. Nowadays, a warm and dry vintage is much better managed than 20 years ago. 6,600 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2021.
The 2020 Pinot Noir Las Pizarras comes from Aconcagua Costa and was 15% fermented in whole bunches before spending 13 months in 55% new French barrels. Cherry red in the glass. The layered nose offers precise notes of strawberry and sour cherry, hints of elderberry, and traces of blood, sweet spice and stalk in front of an oaky backdrop. In the mouth, this is structured around the freshness and fine-grained, reactive tannins that tickle the gums before the long, fruity finish.
An enticing pinot with rich, glossy raspberries, grapes, chalk, forest-floor berries, roses, white pepper and exotic spices. This is really tight and chalky on the palate, with super-fine, mealy tannins and an extremely long, linear finish. Very pretty, elegant and nuanced. Drinkable now, but best after 2024.
About the producer
Since Eduardo Chadwick took over Viña Errázuriz in 1983, the estate has forged a path for fine, Chilean wine. From its home in the Aconcagua Valley, this estate crafts some of the country’s top wines, including the flagship Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve and the Las Pizarras wines.