When Viviana Navarrete first arrived at Viña Leyda 18 years ago, she says that “Like good Chileans, we made mistakes.” In this case it was to plant Merlot and Cabernet Franc – quite reasonable choices for an area that is on the same latitude as Maipo, an area already famed for its red wines. Except that Leyda is in the western foothills of the Coastal Range, where the land is in sight of the Pacific Ocean. It’s this maritime chilling influence, rather than the latitude of the site, which plays a key part in shaping the wines of this small, cool climate region.
Viviana Navarrete, London tasting, November 10, 2025
Viña Leyda was, as the name suggests, the pioneer of the region which now bears its name, with plantings starting in 1998, made possible by the construction of an 8km pipeline from the Maipo River in the Leyda Valley, which supplies irrigation water to this arid region. Now 80% of Viña Leyda’s production is exported, making the wines a familiar sight in both the on- and off-trade in the UK.
Those ill-fated Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes were made into wine for four years but, says Navarrete “they were awful”, with green bean flavours and hard tannins. In the end they let themselves be guided by what nature had given them: a cool, windy, salt-licked site that was perfect for white wines and Pinot Noir.
So close to the Pacific Ocean - Leyda's vineyards the Maipo River and ocean
Navarrete visited London recently to run through a tasting of the producer’s Lot Series of wines. She is a natural and compelling communicator, who brings the story of the vineyard to life with visual props and the clarity of her opinions: “Massal selection in Chile is bad.” was one memorable quote.
When talking about her wines Navarrete, like many winemakers, speaks from the heart, and doesn’t shy away from sharing both the good and the bad. Of course, she is there to convey her passion and enthusiasm, but she isn’t scared to acknowledge the missteps and hard lessons that had to be learned along the way.
Viña Leyda’s wines are branded at three different quality levels: Reserva, Coastal vineyard and the Lot Series, which sits at the top.
Tasting the Lot Series
Lot 4 Sauvignon Blanc Viña Leyda 2024
This wine comes from a single 1.5ha block and used to be fermented in 100% stainless steel. Now Navarrete feels steel is good for the “shiny and expressive” wines at Reserva level, but that it makes wines that are “too electric” for the Lot series. Over time she has arrived at a mix of roughly one third each of three-year-old large French oak barrels, concrete eggs and untoasted wooden casks.
In the search for texture on the palate, the grapes are whole cluster pressed, with the resulting must retaining a bit of turbidity rather than being super clear and clean.
There is a definite mid-palate creamy texture, plenty of focused acidity, gentle drive and an appetising salinity. It has a textural presence but has not lost its Sauvignon Blanc soul.
Lot 5 Chardonnay Viña Leyda 2023
The grapes for this wine grow just 4km from the Pacific Ocean in “one of most extreme and coastal vineyards in Chile” with limestone, shale and sand deposits over granitic bedrock.
Texture in Chardonnay is easy to come by, so in contrast to the Sauvignon Blanc, here Navarrete is “Trying to make the style more vertical, more delicate.” Hence no malo and just 40% barrel ferment, with the rest in concrete and cask, which help the wine to be longer and linear, while retaining a creamy texture.
I found it to be focused but not austere, with great purity of citrus fruit allied to a savoury, oatmeal note. The ten months spent on lees has contributed a fine granular texture and there is a hint of reductive smoky gunflint.
Lot 21 Pinot Noir Viña Leyda 2023
Viña Leyda make five different Pinot Noirs – Navarrete says she would make ten if she were the owner: this is a variety that clearly has numerous stories to tell in Leyda.
In the past, Navarrete says, the Pinot Noirs were jammy, high alcohol and not expressive of their cool climate origins. So, ten years ago they hired viticultural consultant, Pedro Parra. “One of few professionals who can make the link between the palate of the wine you want to have, with the soil composition.”
This wine comes from three different plots, two granite and one limestone.
Navarrete practises reductive winemaking for her Pinot Noirs: 30% whole clusters go into closed stainless steel tanks. The wine is aged 30% in French oak, which gives structure and weight on the mid palate, concrete for purity of aroma, leanness, energy and length, and untoasted casks, which contribute spicy aromas and structure, but respect the perfumed nature of the variety.
It has a delicate nose with old rose and juicy red berries. The palate is at once smooth, silky, fruity and savoury and the finish stretches out for miles. It’s a wine full of tantalising energy and tension.
Origin Pinot Noir Viña Leyda 2022
Having said that the Lot series are the top wines of the estate, Origin Pinot Noir sits alone at the top of the tree at Viña Leyda.
This is just the second time this wine has been made. It originates from a limestone plot which produces a wine with a distinctly herbal dimension, showing basil, tomato leaf and a woody spiciness. It is intentionally not focused on fruit in the same way as the previous wine; it is, says Navarrete, “Something pure and honest.”
Lot 8 Syrah 2022
Viña Leyda has just 10ha of Syrah, but on the evidence here, it can produce something special.
The vines are planted in a plot with granitic soils, evocative of the geology of the northern Rhône, further enhanced by the wine’s aromas of white pepper, olive, bay leaf and violet.
It is stainless steel fermented with 35% whole cluster and natural yeasts. The ageing is in 20% French oak and the rest in untoasted casks.
In Navarrete’s words it is “not too shouty”: a nice way to say that it is refined, not overly concentrated, with beautifully defined fruit.
When talking about her wines Navarrete, like many winemakers, speaks from the heart, and doesn’t shy away from sharing both the good and the bad.
In conclusion…
The tight focus in the Leyda Valley on whites and Pinot Noir, with a cameo role for Syrah, means that Navarrete has been able to drill down into what styles of wine best express these remarkable coastal vineyards at the mouth of the Maipo River. There is a constant focus year after year to make ever better wines; most importantly though, wines which express where they are from.
The VSPT Wine Group is a commercial partner of The Buyer. You can find out more about them here. Enotria distributes Viña Leyda in the UK. The wines are also available from Great Wine Co.
