Tag Archives: Chile

April 15, 2013 · 5:58 pm

De Martino – 28/11/2011

Legada Reserva Chardonnay 2011
Nice rich sulphurous pineapple toast. Quite soft and rich, full frtuiy and toasty but not fat nor hot.

Viejas Tinajas Cinsault 2011 (Itata Valley)
Great spice, tight green pepper. Superb balance and great acidity. Made partially through carbonic maceration in amphorae.

Alto de Piedras Carmenere 2009
Quite juicy nose, fairly earthy savoury fruit. A little meaty, nice red fruit, not heavy but full flavour.

Legado Reserva Syrah 2010
Juicy blackberry spice, very light and clean. Lacks a little depth but easy drinking, not simple, refreshing.

Legado Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Great roasted capsicum. Good depth and weight, nice balance of fruit and savoury, good character.

Las Cruces 2008 (Old bush vine field blend)
Very bright dark fruit, interesting texture, ripe banana peel and some bottled aged character.

Alto los Toros Srah 2008
Very subtle aromas. Intense bright acids and tannins, young and shy, much more structure and balance, a truly great wine.

De Martino wines

De Martino wines

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April 7, 2013 · 2:58 pm

Jaime Rosello – Managing Director Veramonte Wines & Neyen de Apalta, Chile

When I made the decision to take my 16 month wine odyssey I considered just travelling in Europe as the origin and bastian of wine in the world. However I thought it would be a good opportunity to visit North and South America to see what they were doing, as well as taking advantage of a round-the-world ticket. Little to any wine from these continents is imported into Australia because there isn’t much market for them. This is probably because the style and varieties are very similar to wines we make here and in New Zealand and therefore there isn’t much point importing them. As such I was very unfamiliar with regions and producers and had to do a lot of my own research. Information online was often hard to find and of those that I attempted to get in contact with, less than 50% responded to me at all.

Chile was particularly bad for this. Whilst every winery I found had generally great websites to visit and get information from, they seem to never read any emails sent to their general address! Or even worse they don’t bother replying at all. Amazingly when I sent an email to the general address for Neyen de Apalta – a modern icon of Chile in Colchagua – the email went directly to the Managing Director Jaime Rosello. In responding to me, Jaime was not only happy for me to visit Neyen, but he also informed me that he managed the Veramonte winery in Casablanca and I was welcome to visit him there beforehand. His generosity didn’t stop there as he proceeded to enquire where else I was going and contacting some of the many people he knows in the industry and helping make appointments on my behalf. One of the most genuine, humble and generous people I met on my trip, I sent him some questions recently so that I could know him better and here were his responses.

Jaime 3

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March 9, 2012 · 8:57 am

Prowein 2012, aka "The Business" – Dusseldorf, Germany

I’m not ashamed to admit that I am a Wine Trade Fair virgin. Way down in Australia we don’t have anything like this as it is not a big enough market for such a trade fair, and most of the market is dominated by six wine companies. The closest thing we have is individual distributors inviting their producers to show new release wines either once a year or every other year. Having visited Prowein 2012 I can say that this is preferable, as there are far less producers to see and I am familiar with them all. There is also the fact that I know many other attendees and can chat about the wines with them. Attending Prowein is a little bit like the edible room scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, except in that scene they knew what everything was and what they wanted to taste. I spent most of my time wandering around not knowing many of the producers and not knowing which were good enough to visit. It is amazing to see all of these big bright shiny stands, and the layout is generally clear and makes sense. There are a lot of stands for negociants and importers, so you sometimes stumble on Australian wines in the German hall, or French wines in the Spanish hall.

Shiny Prowein 2012

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December 24, 2011 · 9:46 pm

South America – observations and learnings

Talk about potential! Chile and Argentina have been improving every aspect of wine production since the 80s, and as they learn more about their unique terroir and which varieties and styles to focus on in their regions, the sky’s the limit. Chile in particular seems to have such an amazing range of different climates, soil types and elevations that they could theoretically produce any wine style imaginable. People in the industry here are some of the warmest and most genuine I have ever encountered. The quality of the wines speaks volume, but it is the enthusiasm and honesty with which they are produced that makes them so special. In many of the wineries I visited I felt so welcome it was hard to leave so soon.

Very old vineyards in Cafayate, Argentina

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December 15, 2011 · 2:01 pm

Return of the Jedi (Maipo Valley, Chile – Day Four)

And thus through the error of circumstance I returned to Santiago two nights earlier than I originally intended. Whilst I wasn’t too thrilled about having to come back and suffer the trials and tribulations of driving in Santiago, I knew that I could get a few visits to wineries whilst there. As mentioned in my last post, I got the opportunity to meet Julio Bouchon Jnr. and his winemaker for a tasting of the J. Bouchon wines in their Santiago offices, and was also treated to a lovely dinner with my official Chilean host, Jaime Rosello. Jaime was again instrumental in me getting appointments for my final day in Chile, back again in the Maipo Valley. Over dinner I filled him in on the experiences I had further South whilst in the Colchagua, Curico, Maule and Cachapoal regions. At El Bacco where we ate, they also had Neyen by the glass, so I got to try the 2005 vintage, which interestingly tasted younger than the 2006. I will forever be indebted to Don Jaime for all of his generosity, time and connections for making my first trip to Chile so memorable.

The Madonna of Santiago

The Madonna of Santiago

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December 15, 2011 · 1:16 pm

My timing is off… (Curico, Maule & Cachapoal Valleys, Chile)

When I was planning my trip, calculating where I wanted to go and how long to spend there, I was generally looking at maps in the World Atlas of Wine, and plotting a course. The dates I put into my itinerary would often have little relevance, apart from being in regions during the week (to try to meet with winemakers/owners), and weekends in cities. This meant I wasn’t taking into account any public holidays in each individual country, and have come up against some complications. There is a national holiday that is celebrated in many South American countries on the 8th of December, to commemorate the Virgin Mary. As it fell on a Thursday this year many people didn’t work on the Friday and took a four-day weekend. So partly for this reason, I had no appointments for four days. This put a bit of a crimp on my travels, so all I could really do was drive through the regions.

Cachapoal Valley

Cachapoal Valley

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December 10, 2011 · 4:23 pm

Now this is hospitality! (Colchagua Valley, Chile)

I tell you what, if it weren’t bad enough that Chilean wines are poised to bring the world to it’s knees, they are also poised to bring the world TO Chile, thanks to wine tourism. Whilst you can probably find some similar experiences in other countries, particularly in California where wine tourism is a billion dollar industry, there is nothing like the value of wine tourism here, and the sheer impact of the environment. Not to mention the fact that Chileans are genuinely warm and welcoming to others, whereas in most western countries hospitality is merely about tips and gloss. Hosts are knowledgeable, respectful, modest and engaging. At several times during my stay so far, and no more so than in Colchagua, did I say to myself “it doesn’t get better than this.”

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December 9, 2011 · 2:42 pm

Boutique wine revolution (San Antonio & Leyda Valley, Chile)

A common question posed to me before I left Australia (granted by non-industry folks), was “15 months of wine tasting? Won’t you be sick of wine at the end of it?” My response is what many who work with wine would be. “Not a chance. When you are working with wine you are tasting all the time, and as every wine is different there is always a new experience to be had.” This is even more true in my case, as I am actually going to the source. Thus, just like every wine is different, every region, vineyard, winery, winemaker, and experience are different. Visiting the regions in Chile, without any expectations or preconceived notions, has been eye-opening to say the least. They are truly blessed with a wide variety of climates and soil types, and the rest of the world should keep an eye on Chile. As they gain more experience and come to terms with their unique terroir, the wines will just get better and better. The San Antonio & Leyda region is not dissimilar to Casablanca to the North, in terms of its proximity to the coast and focus on white varieties. The difference in climate although subtle is very noticeable; it is much cooler here than in Casablanca. This difference has a profound effect on the wines, particularly the sauvignon blancs, arguably the most important variety in both regions. Leyda was opened up fairly recently, by the introduction of a pipeline that would carry water from the Maipo River to provide necessary irrigation. The region has grown quickly, and is now at capacity, as any new plantings would require another water source. This is probably why there are about 10 times more vineyard hectares planted in Casablanca which has better access to water.

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December 7, 2011 · 1:08 pm

Play it again, Sam (Casablanca Valley, Chile)

All puns aside, the Casablanca Valley is one of several newer regions in Chile getting some serious attention. In the 1980s it was discovered by a former Concha y Toro partner as a potential new white wine region. When Concha y Toro told him he was insane he left and established his own vineyards in the region, predominantly sauvignon blanc. After seeing the results of the early wines, Concha y Toro and many other large wineries began to plant their own vineyards in the region. There are only 11 wineries in the region, but there are almost 4,000 hectares planted. The maths speaks for itself.

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December 6, 2011 · 1:53 am

Timing is everything (Aconcagua Valley, Chile)

Well after several days in Santiago and surrounds getting lost, stuck in traffic and generally frustrated, I was amazed to actually get to my appointment in the Aconcagua Valley early! The drive out was very nice, and I was glad to get out of the hustle and bustle. The winery in question was Errazuriz, another large winery that focuses on premium wines and in this case exports 95% of their products. They have an illustrious background, being one of the wineries originally established back in the mid-1800s by wealthy industrialists to create Bordeaux style wineries. Whilst the original building was destroyed in the earthquake of 1906, the rebuilt house still exists, and was designed with a bottling line and extended cellar.

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