95 Points & One of the Sparkling Wines of the Year 2025 - Tim Atkin
Pale pink in hue. On the nose it features sour cherry and strawberry yogurt at first, followed by hints of green apple and delicious pastry notes. The bubbles are fine and on the palate it is slightly saline with a pleasantly dry effect. It's a very harmonious sparkling wine.
Tabalí's newest launch is a joint venture with Champagne Thiénot, who fell in love with the mean, calcareous soils of Tabalí's Talinay blocks. The resulting wines are defined by this soil and shaped by Felipe Muller (5 time Winemaker of the Year) and Thiénot's winemaking team. Established in 2002, Tabalí is a pioneer and iconic winery situated in Limarí, on the edge of the Atacama Desert in one of the northernmost vineyard regions of Chile. They were one of the first wineries to settle in Limarí and their wines faithfully reflect their place of origin in which climate and soils play a fundamental role, and bring out the potential of each of their vineyards.
Produced with Pinot Noir (60%) and Chardonnay (40%) grapes, coming from the famous Talinay vineyard, a unique terroir where calcareous soils and the cold coastal climate of Limarí combine.
Grapes were whole-cluster pressed very slowly and gently to avoid extracting phenols, fruity aromas and colour in the case of the Pinot Noir. Next the juice was settled for 18 hours to remove the coarse lees. It was then racked into stainless steel tanks to ferment at a controlled temperature of between 14°C and 16°C. Once the first alcoholic fermentation was complete, the wines underwent malolactic fermentation. A blend was made of reserve base wines from different vintages to achieve a style that is consistent over time. The second fermentation then took place in the bottle using the traditional method. This occurred in complete darkness at a temperature of 13°C to achieve good fermentation kinetics in order to produce very fine, persistent and delicate bubbles. It was kept in contact with its lees for 30 months to achieve the style and quality of a great sparkling wine. Finally the disgorgement took place and then liqueur d'expédition was added to provide balance to the wine; this was calculated according to the levels of alcohol, pH and total acidity.
A perfect celebration wine or aperitif.
'I generally have a slight preference for the Tatié Extra Brut Rosé over the Brut bottling and that's the case here. Partnering Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, it has an appealing bronze pink colour, flavours of redcurrant, malt and strawberry, fine bubbles, well-handled dosage of 5 grams of sweetness and a fresh, layered, tapering finish.' - Tim Atkin
95 Points & One of the Sparkling Wines of the Year 2025 - Tim Atkin
