Baetting - Chardonnay 'Los Primos' 2021

Francisco Baettig will be familiar to followers and fans of South American wines. After graduation from the University of Bordeaux in 2002, Francisco began working at Viña Errázuriz, where he instituted various changes in the vineyards and cellar to make it one of the premier estates in Chile. The range from this estate is remarkably diverse, and many of the projects he created there and at Viñedos Chadwick were groundbreaking for their time, most notably the Las Pizzaras Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. No summary of the best South American wine or most talented winemakers is published that doesn’t include Francisco.

If the name Baettig doesn’t sound typically Spanish, then you would be correct, as Francisco’s ancestors were Swiss. In the late 19th century, the Baettigs settled in Malleco, a province in Chile 600 km south of Santiago. While Francisco has spent much of his career further north, his pursuit of balance, freshness, and elegance with his Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs made him wonder if his birthplace might be better suited for these varieties. So, he returned home rather than simply moving close to the ocean, as many others have done. In 2013, along with the assistance of his friend Carlos de Carlos, Francisco Baettig began planting Viñedo Los Suizos, and Vinos Baettig was born.

As with much of Chile, the geology of Malleco is strongly influenced by plate tectonics and Andean volcanoes. As a result, much of the bedrock and gravels are volcanic in origin, and the red clay and loamy topsoils were laid down by eons of the region’s rich biodiversity. Located far to the south in Chile, Malleco also benefits from lower UV radiation and cooler temperatures. It is the ideal location for growing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with unrivaled purity and freshness.

Today, 9 hectares of Pinot Noir and 6.4 hectares of Chardonnay are planted in Francisco’s home vineyard, Viñedo Los Suizos. Farming is manual without chemical inputs, and the harvest is conducted by hand. Despite the size, production remains limited as Francisco sells a portion of his fruit to some of the top names in Chile. Fermentations are all indigenous, and the wines are aged entirely in French oak barrels.

This chardonnay was aged for about 15 months in oak barrels, a third of them new. It's a wine with a vertical structure, intense and penetrating acidity, and flavors of ripe white fruit that contrast with that acidity refreshing everything in its path.

"The austere and tight 2021 Selección de Parcelas Los Primos Chardonnay feels very young. It was harvested the second week of April, keeping very good freshness and acidity, with 13% alcohol, and there was part of the wine that he did not add any sulfur. He used 35% new 400-liter barrels, and the used ones are still 228-liter ones that eventually will be replaced with the used 400-liter ones in future years. There is great purity and symmetry; the oak is neatly integrated; and there's nuance, detail and a superb juiciness in the palate and citrus acidity that makes you salivate. The palate is dry and mineral, serious, less Meursault and more Chablis... It's persistent and long and has all the ingredients and balance between them to develop nicely in bottle. There was some frost, and only 3,480 bottles were produced. It was bottled in August 2022." - 98 Points, Robert Parker

"Intense and focused with stones and an oyster-shell minerality to the lemon zest and oatmeal. This is broad and ample but limey, with beautifully high acidity that goes incredibly well with the structure and the weight of it. Textured and long with a saline edge in the finish. So intense, but bone-dry, mineral and effortless. Drink now or hold." - 98 Points, James Suckling

"The 2021 Selección de Parcelas Los Primos hails from Traiguén, Malleco, in the Araucanía Region. It was fermented in whole bunches before ageing for 15 months, 35% in new French oak and the rest in used barrels. A slightly murky, greenish-yellow in the glass. The attractive aromas range from ginger zest to green apple, with hints of lime and a touch of acacia followed by a nutty hazelnut layer. Velvety without being overly rich, it delivers and ethereal, refreshing palate tempered by a chalky texture and a pinch of salt. Rich and long-lasting, the nuanced finish ends with an aftertaste of fruit and hazelnut. " - 96 Points, Vinous

Producer: Baetting

Country: Chile

Region: Traiguén

Varietal: Chardonnay

Appellation:  Traiguén

Vintage: 2021

Size: 750ml