Chile: A Dichotomy of Practices
Last week I visited four wineries with four very different points of view. A bulk producer in search of a newfound quality identity, a modern winery with an eye on tourism and two giants that have recently merged to create a monolithic presence.
J. Bouchon situated in Mingre in the Maule Valley is an old style hacienda with a suitable rustic looking winery to match their style. The facilities sport epoxy lined cement tanks in a white washed room, kept cool by the meter thick walls. This is all a facade of sorts as there is a modern production area situated just feet away.
Bouchon's history is that of a producer of indifferent and bulk wines. A history they are working hard to rewrite. Their top tier wines are terroir driven with a clear sense of identity from the vineyard. They are helped along this path by consultant Patrick Valette who until recently was the owner of Chateau Pavie in Saint Emilion.
In a rugged landscape of steep washes they carefully apply modern vineyard management in stark contrast to their bucolic setting. The results are good and improving. Expect to see their very best wines appear on the US shores with world class quality and pricing.
Casas del Bosque is well aware that their location in the Casablanca Valley, just an hour from the bustling metropolis of the capital city of Santiago affords them great opportunities for tourism. From their ample parking for busses and cars, to their very fine restaurant and meeting facilities, they are well prepared for visitors.
Even their barrel room is a show piece, designed to delight the tourist, while a few steps away beyond the ornate doors the real business of wine, with all of its unglamorous mess takes place. The wines too are designed to be crowd pleasers, and they hit their mark on all accounts.
The vines here are planted on their native roots, a testament not only to the lack of phylloxera in Chile, but to the mindset that ignores any possible benefits that root stock my give. Similarly the well manicured rows of vines seem to be planted more for ease of maintenance than with the heat of the sun in mind.
The wines are none the less fresh and modern, although the team seems to be struggling to find their ideal style. Experiments with oak aging may be going too far as one of the best wines I tasted was still in barrel and ready to be bottled, but the plans are to leave it for some time more.
Vina Tarapaca is in a world apart from the other properties of the Maipo Valley, literally. You enter the property by passing through a hidden gate far on a hill top, only to then drive miles through their vast vineyards down to their own little town and production facility. Everything they need from worker housing to carriage houses are sequestered in their private little valley.
The mansion that serves as the guest house rivals anything I have seen the world over. The grounds are replete with a pool, tennis court a four hole golf course and even a private landing strip for visiting dignitaries. Every weekend is booked for weddings and events and it is no wonder given the fairy tale elegance of the grounds.
A huge producer of a wide variety of wines, they still managed to impress me with quality even at the lower ends. The highest end push the price envelope for Chilean wines, but given their complexity and rich style, do so deservedly.
Vina San Pedro dwarfs them all. This 140 year old producer in the Curico Valley is large enough to have recently swallowed up Vina Tarapaca, creating the second largest wine property in Chile. The scale of San Pedro is evident in the 3000 acre vineyard that surrounds the winery. While this is one of the largest single vineyard plots I have ever seen, it is only about 1/3 of their total acreage.
Realizing the importance of keeping their high end wine making separate from their bulk efforts, San Pedro recently added individual wine makers to each facet of their operation. No longer does one person have to oversee everything from their gargantuan GatoNegro line to their very limited premium wines.
The vineyards too reflect the many styles the wines encompasses. On one end we find very old dry harvested vines with their gnarly twisted trunks while at the other end of the property is a text book operation of precision agriculture that embraces satellite maps and organic teas for irrigation.
All of the wineries I have seen so far have in common their desire to produce the best possible wines they can. They are all aware that in the past the wines of Chile may not have lived up to their potential and each property is doing what they feel is important to correct that.
Differing scales and approaches dictate what effort each producer concentrates on, but they all have the same goal in mind, and from what I have seen, they are all on their own tracks towards producing wines they may be proud of.
J. Bouchon situated in Mingre in the Maule Valley is an old style hacienda with a suitable rustic looking winery to match their style. The facilities sport epoxy lined cement tanks in a white washed room, kept cool by the meter thick walls. This is all a facade of sorts as there is a modern production area situated just feet away.
Bouchon's history is that of a producer of indifferent and bulk wines. A history they are working hard to rewrite. Their top tier wines are terroir driven with a clear sense of identity from the vineyard. They are helped along this path by consultant Patrick Valette who until recently was the owner of Chateau Pavie in Saint Emilion.
In a rugged landscape of steep washes they carefully apply modern vineyard management in stark contrast to their bucolic setting. The results are good and improving. Expect to see their very best wines appear on the US shores with world class quality and pricing.
Casas del Bosque is well aware that their location in the Casablanca Valley, just an hour from the bustling metropolis of the capital city of Santiago affords them great opportunities for tourism. From their ample parking for busses and cars, to their very fine restaurant and meeting facilities, they are well prepared for visitors.
Even their barrel room is a show piece, designed to delight the tourist, while a few steps away beyond the ornate doors the real business of wine, with all of its unglamorous mess takes place. The wines too are designed to be crowd pleasers, and they hit their mark on all accounts.
The vines here are planted on their native roots, a testament not only to the lack of phylloxera in Chile, but to the mindset that ignores any possible benefits that root stock my give. Similarly the well manicured rows of vines seem to be planted more for ease of maintenance than with the heat of the sun in mind.
The wines are none the less fresh and modern, although the team seems to be struggling to find their ideal style. Experiments with oak aging may be going too far as one of the best wines I tasted was still in barrel and ready to be bottled, but the plans are to leave it for some time more.
Vina Tarapaca is in a world apart from the other properties of the Maipo Valley, literally. You enter the property by passing through a hidden gate far on a hill top, only to then drive miles through their vast vineyards down to their own little town and production facility. Everything they need from worker housing to carriage houses are sequestered in their private little valley.
The mansion that serves as the guest house rivals anything I have seen the world over. The grounds are replete with a pool, tennis court a four hole golf course and even a private landing strip for visiting dignitaries. Every weekend is booked for weddings and events and it is no wonder given the fairy tale elegance of the grounds.
A huge producer of a wide variety of wines, they still managed to impress me with quality even at the lower ends. The highest end push the price envelope for Chilean wines, but given their complexity and rich style, do so deservedly.
Vina San Pedro dwarfs them all. This 140 year old producer in the Curico Valley is large enough to have recently swallowed up Vina Tarapaca, creating the second largest wine property in Chile. The scale of San Pedro is evident in the 3000 acre vineyard that surrounds the winery. While this is one of the largest single vineyard plots I have ever seen, it is only about 1/3 of their total acreage.
Realizing the importance of keeping their high end wine making separate from their bulk efforts, San Pedro recently added individual wine makers to each facet of their operation. No longer does one person have to oversee everything from their gargantuan GatoNegro line to their very limited premium wines.
The vineyards too reflect the many styles the wines encompasses. On one end we find very old dry harvested vines with their gnarly twisted trunks while at the other end of the property is a text book operation of precision agriculture that embraces satellite maps and organic teas for irrigation.
All of the wineries I have seen so far have in common their desire to produce the best possible wines they can. They are all aware that in the past the wines of Chile may not have lived up to their potential and each property is doing what they feel is important to correct that.
Differing scales and approaches dictate what effort each producer concentrates on, but they all have the same goal in mind, and from what I have seen, they are all on their own tracks towards producing wines they may be proud of.
posted by Wineguy at 5:51 AM
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