Santa Rita , 120 Chardonnay, 1998 Review

Chilean value wine producer Santa Rita uses grapes that come from the southern most vineyards south of Santiago in Central Chile, from the Lontue Valley (between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean). This wine is 100% Chardonnay grape composed, is partially fermented in oak, and aged entirely in stainless steel tanks.
According to the winery, 120 is "Brilliant yellow-green colour, of medium intensity. Intense citric aroma with butter and vanilla notes. To the palate it is a fresh, tasty and nicely persistent wine". It sounded worth a try...

When I opened the bottle, the first thing I noticed was that the oak was clearly present and along with the aroma of ripe green apple, pineapple and pear.  The nose was intensely ripe and fresh and I was looking forward to my first sip.

Sadly, the taste was all wrong.  My thoughts immediately turned to salt - pleasant when standing on the beach on a windy day, but not in my wine.  All the wonderful smells were just a tease. The fruit and oak were nowhere to be found and there was no body or finish to speak of.  This salt spray persisted through each sip and even licking my lips took me right back to the beach. Where did all my fruit go?

Cost and Availability
$5.97 for 750 ml bottle at the local wine store. This wine is in wide distribution.

The Bottom Line
I have to admit to being a bit confused that a wine that started out so promisingly had absolutely no follow through. I always figure that a wine has been tasted and blessed many times along the way by talented and knowledgeable people - someone is proud of this, but I just don't get it. Then again, there are many things in life I don't understand and maybe this is just one of those things. If you know where my fruit went, I'd love to hear from you.