In case you wondered; no we were not doing chile (chili),
but Chilean wines. I created a wine presentation and tasting with a focus on
the wines of Chile for Compadres de Corrales on Saturday afternoon, April 20th
at the Dean-Barrett home in Corrales. The weather cooperated, always a
hold-your-breath this time of year, as the event took place outdoors.
Chilean Wine History
Chile redefined itself as a wine country and began capturing
an ever-growing part of domestic wine sales in the 1990s. The Chilean
renaissance began close to the same time it occurred in New Mexico. Chile has
been making its own wines since 1554, most likely from vines planted in Peru.
The industry was severely hurt by the embargo against importing Chilean wines
to Spain, similar to King Philip’s decree that no wines could be made in New
Mexico. Apparently both our state and Chile gave the king the finger and went
on producing wines.
A significant influence on the quality of Chilean wines occurred
when switching to oak from rauli beechwood, which imparted a distinct finish to
the wine many wine drinkers didn’t like. I guess beechwood aging is only a plus
for beer. France has had the most influence on the wine industry, beginning in
the 1850s when many French winemakers arrived after the phylloxera epidemic
wiped out most of the vines. Chile now uses the latest oenological technology.
Chile is still a phylloxera-free country and the only place
with French vines on their native rootstock; a point many Chilean winemakers
popularize. Their respect for terroir has led to the defining of wine regions,
first by determining what grapes grow best in each wine region and focusing on
those, and more recently (2011) vitivinicultural zonification. Now there’s a
head-splitting term for you. This defines three zones within Chile; Costa,
Entre Cordilleras and Andes, which broadly represent the affect the Pacific, the
broad central plains, and the Andes Mountains, have on the grapes, respectively.
Selecting Chilean Wines
Knowing this, I selected five wines, two whites and three
reds from five distinctive wine regions within Chile. The best Sauvignon Blanc
and Pinot Noir often come from coastal regions, and I chose a Casablanca Valley
Pinot and San Antonio Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Both were very good and well received
by the Compadres participants.
The other three wines came from the Entre Cordilleras:
Chardonnay from the Bio-Bio Valley, Carmenere from the Maule Valley and Cabernet
Sauvignon from the Rapel Valley (Cachapoal Valley). To make it easier for the
Compadres members to find the wines I recommended I asked them to go to Total
Wines (Cottonwood), which has the best wine selection in the Albuquerque
area. All the wines and prices listed at the end of this article refer to Total
Wines prices and availability as of late April 2013.
Carmenere, a grape thought to be extinct (at least in
France), was a big hit as most attendees have never tried wines made with
Carmenere, or as one confided to me; only cheap versions. I had the same reaction
when I first tried this grape, at a price point I’m embarrassed to mention, but
quickly changed my mind when I had my first reserva
Carmenere.
Although Chile uses the term “reserva” and occasionally
“gran reserva” to denote better quality wines, as is done in Spain, they do not
adhere to the Espana oak and bottle aging requirements. Sometimes a Chilean
wine producer will slap a reserva on the bottle just because they think it is
better. For example, the gran reserva listed below was from 2011, but a Spanish
gran reserva requires a minimum of two years in oak and three years in bottle,
and last time I checked it was not 2016 yet. Nonetheless the Los Boldos Cab below
is a good quality wine at $12.99, and a Rioja gran reserva would cost about
three times that price.
Our hosts and Compadres members provided a cornucopia of
snacks, cheeses, pastries and crudités to complement the wines and everyone left
knowing more about Chilean wines and the geography and weather of Chile as an
added bonus. The vintage year is not listed below as this can change with
inventory changes.
Anakena
Enco Sauvignon Blanc – San Antonio Valley, Chile (Costa): $10.99
Llai
Llai Chardonnay - Bío- Bío Valley, Chile (Entre Cordilleras): $13.99
Anakena
Ona Special Reserve Pinot Noir – Casablanca Valley, Chile (Costa): $14.99
Chilensis
Carmenere Reserva - Maule Valley, Chile (Entre Cordilleras): $9.99
Los
Boldos Cabernet Gran Reserva - Rapel Valley, Chile (Entre Cordilleras): $12.99
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