Tanners Chilean Chardonnay, Colchagua Valley 2023

Sutil Family Wines (Viña Sutil) is a family-owned concern with vineyards in many of the best regions of Chile, although they are based halfway down the Colchagua Valley in Peralillo (where they also run an excellent, upmarket hotel Viña La Playa surrounded by their vineyards).

Good connections across Chile has ensured they have their own vineyards in Limari in the north and Maule Cauquenes further south. Investment in new winery equipment, specifically smaller stainless steel tanks and better barrels, has led to varieties like Petit Verdot being handled separately and then blended back as required. The story started with Juan Sutil founding the company in 1995. Originally well-known winemaker Alvaro Espinosa consulted on these wines producing fairly simple, fruity wines which he marketed under his own label. Learning from Alvaro's creativity and knowledge, Juan's nephew Diego Garcia pushed the winery forward, seeing the potential of high quality grapes and focusing on wines of Reserva status: more interesting and complex wines spending time in French oak. Tragically Diego was killed in 2010 when his light helicopter crashed in the Andes. Today winemaker Camilo Viani is making new-wave, very terroir focused wines, with an awareness of working with the environment - it's a nice touch that they maintain the wide strip of land between the vineyards and the Tinguiririca River as a wildlife corridor and take great care to protect the local flora and fauna.