Exploring Chile

Senior Times

As the evenings grow somewhat chillier, and we have come inside from our damp squib of a summer, it is time to think about heart warming wines. Where better to travel for this season than to the slopes of the Andes and to one of the New World’s most successful wine producers - Chile.

While throughout Europe this is the time for harvesting and bottling, in South America they are busy planting those wonderful Carmenere, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties that we have grown to love so much. In fact we have had quite a love affair with Chilean wines for the past few years now, and they are fast catching up with Australia as our wine of choice. Figures for 2006 have just been released by the Wine Board and show that sales in table wine to December 2006 grew to 8.2 million cases (up from 4.8 million in 2000).

While Australia still leads the way with 25% of the market, it is followed closely by Chile with 20.8% market share. France is in third place with 14.0% and the USA in fourth with 10.95% Those figures might come as a surprise for some people, who perhaps did not realize just how much we favour New World wines over tradition wines producing countries, particularly France.

However it is not surprising really when you look at the increasing quality coming from these "new" countries, particularly from Chile, whose wines are becoming more and more elegant and refined, and still offer exceptionally good value in most cases. This is the time of year for wine fairs in Ireland, and Chile gets excited about the Irish market each year with growing numbers of wineries coming here for the annual fair - hosted this year at The Chilean Embassy - and looking for representation in Ireland.

Personally I don’t need much persuasion regarding wines from this country. While some wineries may have started out with sending us some bulk boring wines, most have now honed their craft and there are many great champions out there. Names to remember, Casa Silva; Demartino; Montes; VIA, and Torres. My visit a couple of years ago took me to the beautiful Colchagua Valley and then further south to Curico and it was as memorable a trip as you could imagine.

Having arrived in Chile’s capital, Santiago, we immediately changed from the jumbo jet to the three-seater Cessna for the flight down to Colchagua. With the snow-covered Andes on our left separating us from Argentina, and the blue Pacific Ocean on our right flanked by the Coastal mountain range, we flew over the green carpet of Chile’s Central Valley heading for Colchagua. It was very exciting to finally be visiting this unspoiled stretch of mountain-rimmed land that is emerging as a real vinous paradise in the last few years.

While many of the wineries are relatively young, having been planted in the last eight or nine years, there are others with vines from the early part of the twentieth century, and the future prospects are undeniably excellent for this region. Some enthusiastic wine writers have compared the region to the early days of the Napa Valley, and with a tourist-friendly wine route and a wine train adding to the area, they could well have a point. However with land fetching US$500,000 a hectare in Napa, and a mere US$30,000 in Colchagua, the differences at present are clear. From a wine viewpoint however, the area could indeed be compared to Bordeaux. The valley is a sub region of the Rapel appellation and is located 130 km south west of Santiago. Just by looking at a topological map one sees that Colchagua is a different kind of place. Its shape is unlike that of most valleys, including both Maipo and Curico, two other prominent Chilean wine appellations. It is not Chile’s typical north-south valley formed by the majestic Andes and the Coastal Range. In fact, Colchagua is a horseshoe-shaped transverse valley that comes off the Andes and runs westward toward the Pacific. The valley corresponds to a natural formation given by the Tinguiririca River that provides all the water needed for irrigation. At twenty miles in width, the valley does not open to the Andes and this allows vital cool ocean breezes to work their way up the valley, which helps cool things down at night. Of course, the big swings between scorching daytime summer temperatures and chilly night-time readings are a godsend for red grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and the Merlot, Carmenere and Malbec that thrive in Colchagua. On top of all that, humidity is nonexistent and frost is a nonentity.

A distinguishing mark of Colchagua is the way in which wine producers have joined together and worked as a group to promote the wines of their region. Created in December 1999, Vinas de Colchagua S.A. is the first regional association of Chilean wineries, its main objective being to promote the Denomination of Origin, Colchagua Valley. Although from the same region and located nearby, all the wineries differ from one to the other. Some that I visited really impressed me, most employ organic cultivation methods, using geese and lamas for pest control and many are planted on impossibly steep terraces. Horses are often the vehicle of choice for visiting the vineyards and yet the wineries are totally modern and world-class. Some memorable wineries whose wines are available here in Ireland include:

Viu Manent
This winery is having particular success with Malbec at its Cunaco estate, a variety that hasn’t been sufficiently exploited in Chile, in contrast to Argentina. Their Oveja Negra (Black Sheep) range is a line of young wines with fine fruity aromas that fuse with delicate notes of oak. They are fantastic value at around €10, and represent the spirit of this young company, which is to be different, creative and daring. If you want a taste of contemporary Chilean wines of value and character, check out this line.

Montgras
One thing I remember most about this winery was riding around the Ninquen hillside vines on horseback, this is Chile’s first hilltop vineyard. This young winery could hardly have had a more auspicious beginning, when its 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon was chosen as the best in the country by the Chilean Wine Guide. But the Ninquen hill project is the most ambitious yet for the company who have invested over US$3 million in the past few years. The thin clay-loam soils above decomposing rock limit fertility, and the vineyard is planted so as to take advantage of the different angles of sun exposure and to limit erosion. Meanwhile, on the Irish market the Cabernet Sauvignon and reserve Chardonnay are very well placed at the €10/€12 range.

Cono Sur
Just as a discussion of Colchagua’s Malbec leads to Viu Manent, so a review of Chilean Pinot Noir starts with Cono Sur. In a country that has not had a lot of success with this grape, the Cono Sur Pinot Noirs stand out, it is the oldest Pinot Noir in Chile coming from twenty-four year old vines in Chimbarongo. We loved this 300-hectare vineyard, much is managed in an integrated organic fashion, and the geese that contribute to the vital pest control are delightful! Apart from Pinot Noir, Cono Sur is also distinguished for its Merlots which are full of ripe, red fruit character. The Carmenere and Cabernet Sauvignon are also from Chimbarongo, while the white grapes come mostly from the cooler Casablanca. Wine maker Adolfo Hurtado, who took charge in the late 1990s, has been key in this young winery’s growing success.

Montes
Montes was started in 1988 by four partners who shared a firm belief that there was a niche for Chilean premium wines. Montes Alpha was the groundbreaker, and remains a spectacular wine. Later the Montes Folly (grown at a 45 degree angle) has proved a stunner. It is 100% Syrah and grown on the Apalta slopes, a horseshoe within the horseshoe that is Colchagua. Aurelio Montes, the wine-maker and director of the company is one of the most distinguished oenologists in Chile, becoming the country’s leader in wines of exceptional quality, and to cement the brand’s association with the Apalta area, Montes has built a winery on the vineyard property itself. This building is designed strictly along Feng Shui principals, (the only one in Chile) and is one of the most impressive wineries in the country.

Louis Felipe Edwards
Louis Felipe Edwards underwent a radical change of perspective in viticulture and oenology when he contracted the Australian consultant wine-maker Mike Farmilo (formally of Penfolds). Previously Edwards produced fresh, medium-bodied wines, today the reds have greater depth and the ripeness achieved in the vineyard and the increased oak in the winery has produced juicy wines combining smooth tannins and sweet fruit. The epitome of this new style is the Dona Bernada, the winery’s top release which retails here at €29 Their Cabernet and Merlot Reservas represent particularly keen price/quality ratio at €11.49 They have initiated extensive planting on the slopes of Puquillay Alto, selecting varieties with a long ripening cycle. It is on these steep slopes that the future of Louis Felipe Edwards lies, presently it is the fastest growing winery in Chile.

Voe
In 1998 Bodegas y Vinedos Santa Emiliana converted its best vineyards in the Casablanca, Maipo and Colchagua Valleys to an organic farming effort, this creating VOE, (Vinedos Organicos Emiliana) a project that is unique in Chile and a pioneer in Latin America. They are dedicated to combining the sustainability of viticulture with the ongoing search for quality. The winemaker at VOE, Carolina Fernandez (a surprisingly high number of winemakers we met in Colchagua were young women), is very impassioned about the project, which she fondly calls her "baby". She believes in strengthening the expression of the terroir in harmony with the environment. The resulting wines are impressive, Coyam, their premium wine, a blend of five varities, has a depth, intensity and aura of a much more expensive wine, it sells at €15 here. The Sincerity (Merlot/Cabernet blend) is outstanding and Novas (reserve) and Adobe (entry level) ranges all display exceptional character.

Casa Silva
The history of this winery goes back to the end of the 19th century, but when Mario Silva decided to buy the 100 year old winery in Angostura in 1977, it rapidly became one of the fastest growing enterprises in Colchagua. When I visited, the Silva family were expanding their operation and building a guest house to accommodate visitors to their wonderful family-run historic winery. Their wines are superb, and they represent one of the most successful Colchagua wineries on the Irish market. While the older vines in Angostura continue to produce the top quality grapes, the newer vineyards at Los Lingues and Lolol are showing great promise. Their wine-maker, Mario Geisse, is one of the most experienced and respected winemakers in the country. The Los Lingues range represents the quality winemaking coming from this award-wining winery. Their Carmenere Reserva is a superb wine and one of their top wines, Quinta Generacion is a real stunner retailing at €26.99.

For more information on this unique area, home of the "huaso", or cowboy, details on tastings, horse-back tours, barbeques on the hills, blending your own wines with the winemakers, and best of all, participating in the harvest every March, check out www.colchaguavalley.cl.

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