Mayu Valle de Elqui Huanta Vineyard Pedro Ximénez 2022

Mayu has again fashioned a crisp, mouthwatering, delightfully unique white wine in its 2022 Mayu Valle de Elqui Huanta Vineyard Pedro Ximénez. Grown in one of the highest vineyards on earth at an altitude of 6,320 feet from vines averaging 77 years of age, the 2022 Mayu Valle de Elqui Huanta Vineyard Pedro Ximénez offers a hauntingly beautiful bouquet and flavor profile redolent of tropical fruits, citrus, and minerals, all with crystalline purity. Meyer lime, orange zest, and mango flavors are delivered with laser-like precision to enliven the senses and slake the thirst. Moreover, this Mayu Pedro Ximénez possesses just the right amount of refreshing acidity to finish with real verve and vigor. Always light on its feet, yet long on the finish, the old vine 2022 Mayu Pedro Ximénez from the lofty Huanta Vineyard shines from start to finish. For optimal enjoyment we suggest moderate chilling (38°-45° F) of the 2022 Mayu Valle de Elqui Huanta Vineyard Pedro Ximénez. Anticipated maturity: 2023-2025. Enjoy!

The 2022 Mayu Valle de Elqui Huanta Vineyard Pedro Ximénez conjures past experiences of exceptional Albariño, Verdejo, and Sauvignon Blanc offerings, but Mayu’s Pedro Ximénez also offers something quite unique, with or without food. It provides an ideal companion to seafood, charcuterie, tapas, and foods with plenty of heat and spice, something not all white wines do well. Pan seared scallops, roasted oysters, mussels in an herb-infused broth, and grilled fish all make splendid companions to the 2022 Mayu Valle de Elqui Huanta Vineyard Pedro Ximénez. A seafood salad of shrimp, calamari, baby octopus, carrots, and celery in oregano vinaigrette provides another exceptional accompaniment to Mayu’s Valle de Elqui Pedro Ximénez. Green hummus made with chickpeas, arugula, green pepper, and green onion and served with fresh vegetables and Naan chips also offers tasty companionship. Thai Chicken and Basil and spicy Chinese Eggplant in a garlic sauce also shine in the company of the exuberant and refreshing 2022 Mayu Pedro Ximénez, a wine that also doubles as a splendid aperitif for its exceptional purity and crystalline minerality. Taste and enjoy! Buen Provecho!

The Olivier family are pioneers in Chile’s Elqui Valley and the founders of Viña Mayu. “Mayu,” meaning river of stars, draws its name from the Inca word for the Milky Way. The Oliviers first ventured into fine winemaking in the Elqui Valley with Viña Falernia in 1998 after decades of producing pisco (Chile’s national spirit made from white wine and akin to grappa) with plantings of Carmenère and Syrah. Subsequently, they established Viña Mayu as an independent family winery in 2005. In just a little more than a decade, Viña Mayu achieved extraordinary success with Carmenère, Syrah, and Pedro Ximénez, the latter an exceptional Spanish grape variety that thrives in warm, arid climates.

As a young boy, Mauro Olivier worked for his family’s table grape business and later in the family’s production of pisco, helping the Oliviers become one of the three leading Chilean producers of pisco. A visit to Elqui Valley by Mauro’s oenologist cousin Giorgio Flessati at harvest time for the pisco grapes set the stage for Viña Mayu.

Giorgio Flessati of Trento, Italy comes from a long line of viticulturists, so it came as no surprise that he chose to continue the family tradition by completing his studies in oenology at San Michele all’Adige, Italy’s celebrated wine academy near Trento. Giorgio now serves as winemaker at Mayu. He is also the General Manager and Chief Winemaker for Lagaria in Italy with projects in both northern Italy and Sicily.

Elqui Valley lies 325 miles north of Santiago and is Chile’s northernmost wine region. Elqui Valley borders the Atacama Desert, reputed to be the driest spot on earth. The valley’s lack of water vapor and a dearth of ambient light are ideal for star gazing as well as the cultivation of warm weather grapes, which thrive on the valley’s brilliant luminosity and pure water from irrigation projects that flow from Andean snow melt. Elqui Valley’s unique orientation and great variance in terroir provide a spectrum of environmental elements that account for an enormous diversity in the valley’s viticulture.

Elqui Valley possesses three distinct microclimates, Coastal, Mid-Valley, and High Mountain Range, which allow for the successful cultivation of a wide range of white and red grape varieties. In addition to coastal breezes, temperature extremes, differences in solar radiation, rainfall index, and soils, altitude also plays a key role in the quality and variety of wine produced in the valley and allows wineries such as Mayu with viticultural and oenological expertise to craft wines of character and originality. With some of the cleanest air on earth and a high UV radiation index from the desert sun, Mayu produces grapes of incomparable color, flavor and polyphenol content.

Pedro Ximénez (also known by various aliases, including PX and Pedro Jiménez) is a Spanish grape variety most associated with the extraordinary dessert wines of Spain’s Denominación de Origen Montilla-Moriles, and it is highly regarded as a key player in many of Spain’s finest Sherries. Indigenous to Andalusia in southern Spain, Pedro Ximénez thrives in warm, dry climates. Although cultivated most extensively in Spain, Pedro Ximénez has made its way to Chile where it produces dry aromatic wines of exceptional character and to Australia where it yields fine botrytised dessert wines.