Featured in Top 100 Wines of Chile from James Suckling and Single Vineyard and Estate Fruit* $35

Semillón…..we could go into an education lesson with this varietal (it’s more common than you think)…But, why? That’s just not the correct way to introduce this STELLAR, crisp, dry, zesty but medium bodied white wine! Some people say it’s for the ABC peeps (Anything But Chardonnay) and some say it’s what sommeliers drink on their night off. Perhaps a bit of a geek wine too, but we say….skip the labels and comparisons and just drink this insanely delicious wine! Master of Wine, Tim Atkin said “…this is among the very best Semillóns in South America…”

Nicolás Pérez Recognized Among Chile’s Rising Talents

Critics agree too!

James Suckling remarks ”Lovely tension and texture on the palate” and Wine Advocate had so many great things to say, we thought ”It’s an energetic, serious example of the variety” would work best (full review at bottom) and Vinous remarks ”it glides with a long, refreshing core.”

The 2022 vintage was Nicolás Pérez’s first harvest and wine since they passed the reins from Marcelo Retamal in 2021.

What a serious act to follow? Almost like singing after Frank Sinatra. No one wants to follow that act! But Nicolás Pérez did and Tim Atkin and Amanda Barnes, both holding the prestigious Master or Wine global designation, nominated Pérez as a candidate for “Young Winemaker of the Year” just this year in 2026.

The fruit all came from a single vineyard on their estate at about 1,100 feet. From the gravelly north side of De Martino’s home turf in Isla de Maipo. All the great winemaking choices went into this wine: hand harvested, whole clusters pressed, native yeasts, then 15 months in big old oak casks. Just one taste shows off the talented winemaking decisions!

In your glass….Honeysuckle and chamomile hit first, like walking past a garden right after the morning dew wears off. Then the fruit rolls in: yellow apple, quince and a slice of ripe melon, with a sprig of wild herbs tucked in. There is also a refreshing presence of salinity, which is really nice. It has a fuller body, deceptively so because you think it might err on the side of being soft, but not at all. It has bright acid that cuts straight through and keeps every sip bright, fresh and a hint of that salinity we mentioned earlier. The finish is clean and snappy with fabulous texture.

Oysters, anyone? Or…. we think a good ol’ fashioned Seafood boil would be great with this (butter and garlic or lemon and Old Bay) - don’t add too much hot sauce heat to it. 🦞🦐🌽🥔

Crispy crab rangoon rolls (Keep the sweet chili dip light though, because a lot of sugar will offset the body of this wine…plus a squeeze of lime in the dip helps.)🦀

A Top 100 white from Chile…35% OFF Grab a few for your next seafood night!

96 Points - Tim Atkin, Master of Wine “On current form, this is among the very best Semillóns in South America, made with a massal selection from the 1970s that was planted in Isla de Maipo in 2009. Waxy and leesy, it has some cream from full malolactic fermentation, citrus peel, lemongrass and custard flavours and deftly integrated older oak. Has the concentration and acidity to age well too. 2024-30”

95 Points - Deschoardos ”This La Blanca has been produced since 2019, always with the idea of a semillon for aging. In its third vintage, that is, the previous vintage, the wine began to be a bit fresher and less succulent, perhaps with an eye on its aging potential, more pronounced acidity. And this one, with just 12.5º of alcohol, offers a perhaps more radical vision of that idea in a wine marked by intense and penetrating acidity, and mouth-watering citrus flavors and aromas. Planted in 2009 on alluvial soils on the terraces of the Maipo River, in Isla de Maipo, this semillon was produced with whole clusters pressed directly in a pneumatic press and then fermented in foudres with native yeasts. Aging lasted for 14 months in those same foudres.”

94 Points, Top 100 Wines - James Suckling ”Seashells and sea urchin character to the limey citrus. Some white almonds and raw cashews. Lovely tension and texture on the palate, with a medium to full body and a pure, nicely saline finish. Bright acidity despite its 100% malolactic fermentation. Really zingy and gastronomic. Drink or hold.”