Laberinto Cenizas Sauvignon Blanc, Valle del Maule, Chile 2023

Katie here. If you've read many of our posts, you probably already know that I really dislike the heat of the summer. Now that school has started, I feel like it should be Fall, which makes all this continued heat more upsetting to me. But do you know what makes this heat better? A nice, cool Sauvignon Blanc. We had dinner with a friend lately, and it was a real treat to come inside from the 95 degree heat to this lovely wine.

Laberinto Cenizas Sauvignon Blanc, Valle del Maule, Chile 2023

I was excited to try this. Would a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc be very green like a New Zealand Sauv Blanc, or very minerally like a French Sauv Blanc?

Turns out, it's a fun mix, but this is really its own wine! On the nose, it's very citrusy, with lemon and smells that come across as tropical. This holds true on the palate as well, but you also notice a slight effervescence to it. That, along with the tartness of the wine, make it a real bright wine that just seems to scream summertime. It does have some mineral notes to it, like walking on a wet stone path, but there isn't as much of that mineral flavor as you often get in a French Sauv Blanc. It's much more fruit-forward. If you're like my mom, and the big green pepper/celery/asparagus notes of the New Zealand Sauv Blancs are a little off-putting, this is definitely a Sauvignon Blanc to consider trying.

In general, take another look at Chilean wines when you're at the liquor store. Chile is making some dynamite wines, and as they're simply less well-known than France and the US, the wines tend to be an incredible value.

Beat the heat this coming weekend with this fun Chilean Sauvignon Blanc!

This sells at Jacob Liquor for $25.