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1865 Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Leyda Valley 2015
WhiteChile2015
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2019-11-13 · Published 2026-09-09 · Updated 2026-09-09
At a glance
In one line
4.0/5 — higher than Vivino's 3.7 average · world avg price US$17 · The white from Korea's '18 holes in 65 strokes' golf wine.
Wine Enthusiast 91, Editors' Choice (2015 vintage) · critic listed on Vivino 89 (Dec 2015) · two bronze medals at international competitions in 2016
Market note: The only cool-coastal white in the 1865 range. The reds (Cabernet, Carmenère, Syrah, Malbec) account for most Korean sales, so the Sauvignon Blanc is comparatively little known. Vivino vintage averages peak with 2013 (3.8) and dip with 2014 (3.4); 2015–2017 sit evenly at 3.7. The label has since changed from 'Single Vineyard' to 'Selected Vineyards'.
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“Delicious sauvignon blanc.”
What I learned today: even a short record can hold a whole season if someone beside you opens the window.
Monday afternoon, I had my year-end review at work. My team leader turned the pages and went over the year. At the end she said, "Your records are really thorough. Next year, take one more step with them." Not sure whether it was praise or homework, I carried it to the bar.
Master Seo looked at my face once and poured me a glass of white. Grapefruit, lime, and freshly cut grass. A scent that turned the tip of my nose green. Outside the window it was December; inside the glass it was spring.
Without meaning to, I turned toward the window. I've turned to a window like that before. Late autumn when I was twenty-one, a Wednesday evening with cold rain drumming on the window. On that night of endlessly changing glasses, one glass smelled of grass. "Is it spring outside?" I said, looking at the rainy window. Father laughed and opened the window a little. The smell of wet earth came in and mixed with the grass in the glass. I don't know the bottle's name.
The note is simple: "Delicious sauvignon blanc." Four stars. Father, who always hid the label, wrote the grape's name as it was. The bottle was 1865 Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. Master Seo told me the golf story attached to the name, and I stuck a wine-name Post-it into the notebook. Maybe Father opened the window that day because his daughter's face, searching for spring, made him laugh.
On the way home I turned my team leader's words over again. One more step with the records. What I learned today: even a short record can hold a whole season if someone beside you opens the window.
What this wine is
In Korea, 1865 is less a wine name than a phenomenon. Viña San Pedro was founded in 1865 by the Correa Albano brothers in Chile's Central Valley and is today the heart of VSPT, Chile's third-largest wine group, owned by the Luksic family. 1865 is its premium line, named simply for the founding year — and that number took on an entirely different meaning in Korea. Imports began in 2003, and around 2006–2007 a story spread among golf-club sommeliers that this was 'the wine that lets you shoot 18 holes in 65 strokes'. It became the bottle you give to mark a hole-in-one; sales jumped 142% over that period, it has been Korea's most recognised wine brand for eight straight years since 2016, and it passed one million bottles a year in 2022. As of 2023, 66% of all the 1865 exported worldwide is drunk in Korea. A brand Chile made and Korea raised.
That fame, though, belongs almost entirely to the reds. This bottle is the white living in their shadow. It is 100% Sauvignon Blanc from San Pedro's own vineyards in the Leyda Valley on the Pacific coast, a cool site chilled nightly by sea breezes. No oak, stainless-steel fermentation, 13.4% alcohol. The producer's note: "Pale yellow with greenish tints. Citrus like grapefruit, white asparagus, sweet peas, minerals and a hint of chili pepper. Fresh, with strong acidity and a long finish." They suggest oysters, crab and shellfish.
What the world says
The 2015 vintage earned 91 points and an Editors' Choice from Wine Enthusiast: "Fresh, angular aromas of jalapeño, bell pepper, beach breeze and citrus fruits are elegant, chiseled and potent." It was one of only two 1865 wines to get an Editors' Choice that year; the other was the Limited Edition Blend 2013. A critic listed on Vivino gave it 89 (Dec 2015).
The community is calmer than the critics. 186 Vivino users average 3.7, with 52% at 4 or above and 39% at 3. The label as a whole averages 3.6 (1,189 ratings). Keywords run citrus, grapefruit and lime; grass, asparagus and gooseberry; then tropical, pineapple and lychee, and minerals. Acidity 3.9/5, sweetness 1.4 — the numbers of a textbook dry Sauvignon Blanc. The comparison that turns up most often in the reviews is New Zealand.
"Very nice Chilean SB. Had a very grassy finish — almost a New Zealand style. Look forward to buying this again." — Vivino review, Dec 2017, 4 stars
"Cooled nightly by the sea breeze, which imparts a lovely salty minerality. Brimming with tropical fruit — lychee, passionfruit, pineapple. A single vineyard that keeps getting better with age." — Vivino review, Jan 2021, 3.5 stars
"At first the green, plant-like side is strong, but the citrus comes up and the balance improves. For similar money I'd recommend a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc." — Vivino review, Feb 2018, 3.5 stars
That last review sums up why the community sits at 3.7: not bad, but the same money buys Marlborough.
How I drank it
November 13, 2019, 4 stars. The note is three words: "Delicious sauvignon blanc."
I logged sixteen bottles that same day: Almaviva 4.5, Veuve Clicquot 4.5, Kung Fu Girl Riesling 4, Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay 3, Montes Alpha Merlot 3, Graham's Six Grapes Port 1. San Pedro appears twice more in the log: on October 4, 2023, the 1865 Old Vines Cabernet 2019 got 4 and the Desert Valley Syrah 2018 got 3; on April 15, 2024, Sideral 2020 got 4.
My 4 sits 0.3 above the community's 3.7, and the critic number is 91 from Wine Enthusiast, an Editors' Choice. I have no re-tasting of this Sauvignon Blanc on record, and the 2015 is past its drinking window (to 2025), so I plan to open a current vintage and update the score.
Where this wine shows up
In Korea the founding year 1865 was re-read as a golf score, and the line was sold to club-house sommeliers before anyone else. That single slogan made Korea the wine's biggest market in the world, at some 24,000 cases a year.
Wikipedia (Korean) — 1865 wine · Newsis — How '1865', known as the golf wine, became a national wine
Giving a high score to an expensive wine is easy. This piece does the opposite: only wines with a Wine-Searcher world average under US$20 that I scored 4 or higher (out of 5), ranked by a value index (my score divided by price).
Artwork and stills are not reproduced for copyright reasons; scenes are summarised.
Vivino community data
2015 vintage rating distribution (186 ratings, average 3.7)
| 5★ | 19 (10%) | |
| 4★ | 78 (42%) | |
| 3★ | 72 (39%) | |
| 2★ | 14 (8%) | |
| 1★ | 3 (2%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Citrus | 75 | citrus 31 · grapefruit 19 · lime 11 · lemon 9 |
| Vegetal | 56 | grass 19 · asparagus 13 · gooseberry 11 · straw 6 · bell pepper 3 |
| Tropical fruit | 31 | tropical 14 · pineapple 6 · lychee 5 · kiwi 3 |
| Earth & minerals | 30 | minerals 17 · earthy 4 · honey 3 · stone 3 |
| Tree fruit | 20 | green apple 6 · peach 3 · stone fruit 3 |
| Oak | 12 | butter 5 · dill 2 · oak 2 |
| Spice | 9 | pepper 5 · mint 2 · jalapeño 1 |
Structure: Acidity 3.9/5 · Intensity 3.1/5 · Sweetness 1.4/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 1189 ratings, average 3.6)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 3.6 | 86 |
| 2012 | 3.4 | 69 |
| 2013 | 3.8 | 264 |
| 2014 | 3.4 | 169 |
| 2015 | 3.7 | 186 |
| 2016 | 3.7 | 77 |
| 2017 | 3.7 | 104 |
| 2018 | 3.6 | 50 |
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is 1865 Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc?
A 100% Sauvignon Blanc white from Chile's Viña San Pedro (founded 1865), grown on the company's own vineyards in the cool Leyda Valley on the Pacific coast. Stainless-steel fermented, 13.4% alcohol, a crisp dry style of grapefruit, lime, grass, asparagus and minerals. The 2015 vintage: Wine Enthusiast 91 and Editors' Choice, Vivino 3.7.
How much does it cost?
Overseas retail is US$17–20 (wine.com's listing for the 2015). Within the 1865 range the white is cheaper than the reds, and what is on sale today is a recent vintage relabelled Selected Vineyards.
What food does it go with?
The producer recommends oysters, crab and shellfish; Vivino lists shellfish, vegetarian dishes and goat's cheese. With its high acidity and grassy, citrus aromas it suits hoe (Korean sashimi), oysters, spring-greens namul salads and sushi. Serve cold at 8–10°C.
Why is 1865 called the 'golf wine'?
1865 is San Pedro's founding year. Around 2006–2007 a story spread at golf clubs that this was 'the wine that lets you shoot 18 holes in 65 strokes', and it became the bottle for celebrating a hole-in-one. It has been Korea's most recognised wine brand for eight straight years since 2016 and passed one million bottles a year in 2022; as of 2023, 66% of all 1865 exported worldwide is drunk in Korea.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Wine.com — 2015 vintage review (Wine Enthusiast 91) and producer notes
- VSPT Wine Group — 1865 Single Vineyard in Wine Enthusiast's Editors' Choice
- Newsis — how the 'golf wine' 1865 became a long-lived brand (Feb 2024)
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Tasted the same dayAntinori (Tenuta Montenisa), 'Marchese Antinori' Cuvée Royale Franciacorta NV
Italy · Lombardy★½☆☆☆Tasted the same dayKendall-Jackson, Vintner's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
United States · Sonoma★★★★☆Tasted the same dayAlta Vista Single Vineyard Serenade Malbec 2015
Argentina · Mendoza★★★★½Same producerSeña 2012
Chile★★★★½Same producerMontes, Alpha M 2015
Chile · Central Chile★★★½☆Same producerMontes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
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