Issue:
February
2011

by Manos Angelakis

I just returned from a visit to some of Chile’s top wineries, and there is only one word to describe the experience: WOW!

Chilean wines have improved in the last 15 years to the point of giving the better Old World wineries a run for their money. In the $15 to $35 US retail category, the product is outstanding; in the $50 and up price range, the wines are exceptional. Most of the premium and ultra premium wines I tasted, I would classify as being in the LWM91 to LWM97 point range. On the red side, Carmenère, is still a preeminent wine-grape, a de facto “national” grape for Chile and is made both as 100% varietal wine and in blends, to add spiciness and enhance the backbone of the blend. Of course, all the noble French grapes are planted and, depending on the vintner’s style, clones of different type are cultivated through the vineyards. On the white side, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blends are vinified as much as is Chardonnay. Producers are also experimenting with new, for Chile, varieties like Sangiovese, Malbec and Viognier.       

We saw large vineyards, planted in both flat plains and hillsides, in diverse microclimates, even within the same valley. Because of the mostly dry climate – with the exception of vineyards located in the coastal area that benefit from morning fog and a generally cooler climate - the vines are drip irrigated. In one vineyard, Pipe-Organ cacti grow side by side with the grapes. The majority of the rootstock is fairly young and ungrafted, but there are at least two wineries with 75 to 90-year old vines, and the grapes from them are used in their premium blends. Extensive canopy management and green harvesting takes place to grow the best possible grapes. For the premium wines, most grapes are hand picked at the vineyard with further hand selection and de-stemming upon receipt at the winery. Presently, wines are fermented in stainless steel tanks, though some of the traditionalists are also fermenting in large oak vats, and everyone is aging their wines in French oak barrels. A few producers use a limited amount of American oak for a little extra zing. The winemakers have invested considerable amounts of capital in their enterprises. The wineries I saw were either built within the last 10 years or the facilities were upgraded within that period. They all have state-of-the-art, gravity fed, computerized facilities, even those whose cellars are over one hundred years old; but the oenologists take a hands-on approach to making their wines and the computers are there to assist the vintners in keeping fermentation temperatures, for example, constant, and of course for the necessary extensive record keeping.

Red blends as well as monovarietal wines are created to be food-friendly and easy to drink, aromatic, with sweet tannins. Whites, also blends and monovarietals, are aromatic and crisp with balanced acidity. The character of these wines  is mostly somewhere between New World and Old World, the majority moderately fruit-forward and ready to drink upon purchase, though the reds will further improve with 6 to 10 years of bottle age. We had the chance to taste barrel samples of individual components of the more complex ultra premium wines, and that experience increased our understanding of how these great wines are made.

We visited five wine producers; one of them creates unexpectedly beautiful organic wines in a completely biodynamic environment. Two have vineyards and wineries in the Apalta valley – a subdivision of Colchagua; one is located in the Casablanca valley; one has facilities mostly in the Maipo valley – though they own vineyards and have winery facilities in other valleys as well; and the fifth winery located in the Colchagua valley has more vineyards elsewhere in Chile.

For those that collect wines or cellar wines for aging, many of these top Chilean producers bottle Magnums and Jeroboams of their top wines. Since these large bottles age slower and in a considerably different fashion than the standard 750ml. bottle, they allow the wine to better mellow and the tannins to subside from the exuberance of their youth.

For descriptions of the individual wineries and some of the better wines they make, visit The Oenophile Blog. I will be describing the vineyards and wineries of Veramonte, Casa Lapostolle, Emiliana, and Montes and their wines in detail. Concha y Toro, is located here, at LuxuryWeb Magazine.

Salut!

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