CoPa Semillón, Valle de Itata 2024

120-year-old vines, dry farmed and ungrafted – this is a seriously interesting Chilean white. Peach, honey, herbs, flinty minerality, and a lovely salty finish.

CoPa Wines is a tiny project dedicated to preserving and showcasing the ancient vineyards of Chile's Itata Valley. We're a long way from big-volume Chilean wine here – these are small parcels, old vines, and wines made with a real sense of place.

This particular wine is made from 100% Semillón grown in a tiny vineyard in Güarilihue, around 20km from the Pacific Ocean.

The vines are approximately 120 years old, ungrafted and dry farmed, planted on granite soils with quartz. The grapes are harvested by hand into small 15kg boxes before being gently pressed.

Fermentation takes place in 300 and 500-litre French oak barrels before the wine spends 13 months ageing in a combination of new and used French oak. It's then given another six months resting in bottle before release.

Why We Like It

This is not your everyday Chilean white wine – and that's exactly why we like it.

There's a lovely combination of peach, honey and dried fruit, but underneath all that ripe fruit is a more savoury side with green herbs, flinty gunpowder notes and a brilliant saline minerality.

It's medium-bodied, structured and complex, with enough texture from the barrel fermentation to give it some weight without losing the freshness that makes it so drinkable.

If you're normally drinking white Burgundy, barrel-aged Chardonnay, white Rhône or more serious Loire whites, this is absolutely worth trying. It's a chance to drink something genuinely different from some remarkably old vines.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Peach, honey and dried fruit with green herbs, flinty reduction and a subtle gunpowder character.

Palate: Medium-bodied and textured with ripe stone fruit, mineral notes and a lovely saline edge. The French oak adds complexity and structure without overwhelming the fruit.

Finish: Long, elegant and mineral with lingering stone fruit, herbs and refreshing salinity.

Food Pairing

A brilliant wine for food. Try it with seared tuna, grilled sea bass, scallops, roast chicken, creamy seafood dishes or mushroom risotto.

We'd particularly like this with good Scottish seafood – the combination of ripe fruit, acidity and that salty mineral character should be spot on with simply cooked fish or scallops.

Product Details

• Producer: CoPa Wines
• Wine: CoPa Semillón
• Vintage: 2024
• Country: Chile
• Region: Rio Itata
• Appellation: Valle de Itata
• Grape: 100% Semillón
• Vine Age: Approximately 120 years
• Farming: Dry Farmed
• Vines: Ungrafted, bush trained
• ABV: 13%
• Bottle Size: 75cl
• Closure: Cork
• Winemaker: Rodrigo Concha
• Suitable For: Vegans & Vegetarians

Buy CoPa Semillón Online

Buy CoPa Semillón Valle de Itata 2024 online from The Strong Water Co., independent wine merchants based in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire.

We deliver wine throughout the UK, including Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Whether you're ordering wine for delivery to Inverness, the Highlands, Skye, Orkney, Shetland or elsewhere across Scotland, you can order online for delivery direct to your door.

Local customers can also shop our wine range at The Strong Water Co. in Banchory and Ballater, in the heart of Royal Deeside.

ABV STRENGTH 13.5

BOTTLE SIZE 75cl

COUNTRY Chile

GRAPE Semillon

REGION Rio Itata

STYLE Medium-bodied

VINTAGE 2023