May 22, 2014
3,000-Mile Region Commands Attention

Last May (2013) Vine Connections launched “The New Chile.” Many of you may remember being visited by Chilean winemakers. Well this May (2014) the cover story of Wine Spectator was “The New Chile.” It appears that Chile’s 250+ wineries are commanding attention on the world stage. And there’s good reason to look now to the 3,000-mile region west of the Andes: with a dedicated organic ethos, completely ungrafted rootstocks, and enthusiastic international investment from top winemakers, Chile’s winemaking is more exciting than ever before. And, after a long focus on affordable varietal wines with hit-or-miss quality, the buzz word is now, finally, terroir.

Much of the new energy can be attributed to new blood in the winemaking scene. Constance Schwaderer and Felipe Garcia (Garcia + Schwaderer) are a young couple who opened up their winery in the cool Casablanca Valley in 2006. Located in the Anconcagua Valley, which reaches much higher temperatures in its interior, Casablanca Valley’s foggy Pacific influence is a haven for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. Only planted to vine since the mid-80s, Casablanca Valley is becoming an important region, with 300 mornings of fog each year. Some speculate that the fresh and fragrant wines created from this region made it ground zero for the exploration of terroir in the country.

Garcia + Schwaderer’s Sauvignon Blanc is grown on granitic red clay soils in the coolest part of the Valley at 900 feet. Fresh is an understatement. Intensely precise aromatics of grapefruit and lime are met by a balanced palate of rounder tropical fruits such as mango and passion fruit, all with vivacious acidity. This wine is definitely a good place to start when looking for a distinctly Chilean version of the grape. G + S keep production extremely small scale—only 725 cases are produced per year.

They created their red blend ‘Facundo’ specifically as a quintessential showcase of Chilean red. (Their passion for Chile runs deep: they are the cofounders of a 2009 group called MOVI, dedicated to independent Chilean vintners.) The majority of the blend is Carignan from 54-year-old, dry-farmed, bush-trained vines grown in the Central Valley DO, Chile’s oldest and most established wine region. Again, the soils are predominantly granitic clay. The rest of the blend is comprised of Cab (from Itata in the South), Cab Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot (all from Central Valley). The wine spends two years in barrel (10 percent new), so its weight is broad, and its blackberry and floral aromatics round toward chocolate and sweet tobacco on the palate, with an interesting undercurrent of graphite. Complex, pleasurable, and well-balanced, it took the gold medal in the Wines of Chile awards, 2013.

Elsewhere in the Anconcagua Valley, Matias Garces Silva (with help from his family) has been making gravity-fed, sustainably farmed wines since 2002. Located between the Coastal Mountain Range and the Pacific Ocean, its gently rolling hills are characterized by a very dry climate and poor soils. Amayna’s barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc is so delicious that it makes you wonder why this isn’t a more common practice with this grape. The yin-yang balance of acidity and weight buttresses layered aromatics: pear, lychee, lime, and salinity, with a long toasty finish. It regularly racks up 90+ points in the wine press. Their steel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc is just as lovely, with a creamy texture from two months of lees contact. Zippy notes of tropical fruit, pineapple, citrus, and white flowers make this playful and enchanting.

But the excitement is not just around young blood—some of the country’s stalwart producers are creating excellent juice by exploring new areas or methods. Vina Aquitania has been making wine since the first renaissance in Chilean wine during the 1980s. Their ‘Sol de Sol’ Chardonnay is grown in Malleco, the southernmost growing area in Chile, only planted to vine since the 90s. With a high rainfall and short growing season, it’s a risky region for many grapes, but Chardonnay thrives here. Their vineyard is characterised by a poor, well-drained soil with warm days and cool nights. They ferment their Chard in whole clusters, which contributes an intriguing depth of flavor showing in distinctive mineral notes, underlying the ripe apple, pears, and very subtle vanilla aromas. Vina Aquitana is comprised of Bruno Prats and Paul Pontallier from Bordeaux, plus the Chilean oenologist Felipe de Solminihac, and the Champenois oenologist Ghislain de Montgolfier. This mix of French and local perspective has long been a part of Chilean winemaking, most especially since the phylloxera epidemic in France, when winemakers were drawn to the phylloxera-free frontier in South America.

In fact, Chile alone in the winemaking world can make the claim to ungrafted rootstocks, being 100 percent phylloxera-free, and, indeed, virtually pest-free: the lack of humidity and the isolation by both the Andes and the ocean mean that sulphur is often the only type of pesticide needed. This makes organic production much easier than in other parts of the world, and it’s becoming a staple in contemporary Chilean practices. In addition, without the need to graft onto phylloxera-resistant rootstocks, winemakers spare the expense, and the savings gets passed onto the consumers. As the world’s seventh largest producer of wine, Chile’s turn toward quality is a boon for wine drinkers. The country can offer incredible value for distinctive, terroir-driven, and, increasingly, organic wines.