Chile: Mountains of Wines
I have been in Chile for more than a week now, and I have visited four wineries and seen five of the nine main wine producing regions and tasted around 50 wines . I am far from finished with my exploration, and I will be posting about the specific wineries in the days to come.
My first impression of the Chilean wine scene is that it is in a state of flux. Years of making big, rather indifferent wines has given way to a newfound search for the holy grail of modern wine, fruit.
The warm weather, mitigated by cooling breezes form the nearby Andes and Pacific Ocean translates to highly alcoholic wines with a tendency not to ripen well. The move to cooler regions and better vineyard practices is rapidly changing the wines that Chile is producing.
Almost everyone we have talked to has voiced their desire to express more of the grape in their wines. This is a trend that I applaud and that will make the wines of Chile that much more sought after on the world stage.
Carmenere is ubiquitous here. This grape, thought for so long to be Merlot, hails form the Bordeaux region of France, where it has long all but disappeared. In Chile it ranges from a rather indifferent red wine full of green pepper flavors, to a powerhouse of rich notes, but often lacking in complexity.
The desire to create a unique identity for the wines of Chile has led many to embrace and improve the Carmenere wines and from what I have tasted they may be on the right track, but the battle is not over yet. The propensity of the grape to produce an overwhelmingly green flavor is a strike against it, but when dealt with skillfully I was more impressed with the results.
Cabernet Sauvignon reigns here, as it seems to almost everywhere. The Cabs of Chile tend towards the softer, more drinkable side. This is all the more appropriate when you consider the low prices that the market allows for these wines. The $3 to $8 range is well populated and the quality in this value niche is much higher than in other parts of the world.
The high end is not completely devoid of players. Most of the wineries we have visited are producing a super blend that pushes the price envelope beyond $30. A price point that keeps the wines off the shelves here, but will be well received abroad. It may be a bit of an uphill struggle as the less expensive offerings have characterized the wines of Chile for most people.
I came here to find out if the wines from Chile are just well priced, or if there were gems that have yet to surface in the US market. With only 10% of my trip behind me I have already discovered the wines I was looking for, and I fully expect to learn about many more in the weeks to come.
My first impression of the Chilean wine scene is that it is in a state of flux. Years of making big, rather indifferent wines has given way to a newfound search for the holy grail of modern wine, fruit.
The warm weather, mitigated by cooling breezes form the nearby Andes and Pacific Ocean translates to highly alcoholic wines with a tendency not to ripen well. The move to cooler regions and better vineyard practices is rapidly changing the wines that Chile is producing.
Almost everyone we have talked to has voiced their desire to express more of the grape in their wines. This is a trend that I applaud and that will make the wines of Chile that much more sought after on the world stage.
Carmenere is ubiquitous here. This grape, thought for so long to be Merlot, hails form the Bordeaux region of France, where it has long all but disappeared. In Chile it ranges from a rather indifferent red wine full of green pepper flavors, to a powerhouse of rich notes, but often lacking in complexity.
The desire to create a unique identity for the wines of Chile has led many to embrace and improve the Carmenere wines and from what I have tasted they may be on the right track, but the battle is not over yet. The propensity of the grape to produce an overwhelmingly green flavor is a strike against it, but when dealt with skillfully I was more impressed with the results.
Cabernet Sauvignon reigns here, as it seems to almost everywhere. The Cabs of Chile tend towards the softer, more drinkable side. This is all the more appropriate when you consider the low prices that the market allows for these wines. The $3 to $8 range is well populated and the quality in this value niche is much higher than in other parts of the world.
The high end is not completely devoid of players. Most of the wineries we have visited are producing a super blend that pushes the price envelope beyond $30. A price point that keeps the wines off the shelves here, but will be well received abroad. It may be a bit of an uphill struggle as the less expensive offerings have characterized the wines of Chile for most people.
I came here to find out if the wines from Chile are just well priced, or if there were gems that have yet to surface in the US market. With only 10% of my trip behind me I have already discovered the wines I was looking for, and I fully expect to learn about many more in the weeks to come.
posted by Wineguy at 6:19 AM
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