Wines from Chile gaining new esteem

There is a new wave of luxury red wines now being produced in a country that possessed this capacity for more than 100 years yet the potential was left unrealized. Chile is now excelling in making a number of high-end wines that strike a balance between old-world finesse and new-world vigor.

Down the center of this tall, skinny country is Chile’s Central Valley, which is dissected by rivers and sub-valleys, and is a paradise for grapes. The climate, moderated by the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west, is often described as being a cross between those of Napa Valley and Bordeaux.

Montes 2002 sauvignon blanc $10. A zippy, refreshing wine that shows a pale yellow color and a fresh, attractive bouquet of tropical fruits, grass, peach, pineapple and a hint of gooseberry. Well balanced with nice acidity and just a fresh, crispy light, happy wine to the palate. Goes great with steamed shellfish or light white meats.

Casa Lapostolle 2003 Cuvee Alexandre merlot $20. Elegant yet juicy merlot with a refined balance of fruit, oak and tannins. A spicy, full flavored wine with pronounced rich blackberry, toast, tobacco and vanilla flavors that weave around a persistent finish.

Casa Lapostolle 2002 Clos Apalta $60. A bit less muscular than the highly touted 2001, this wine, like its predecessor, will leave you groping for superlatives. Intense, dark red, deep and opaque color with aromas of dried currant, peppery chocolate, fresh wild mint leaves and whole roasted coffee beans are concentrated in a very rich mineral nose. This powerhouse of a wine reveals a silky, full-bodied mouth feel with flavors of dark chocolate, wild ripe strawberries, and intense plum. These flavors are drawn out on a long and wildly satisfying finish. A real beauty with tons of aging potential.

The first of Chile’s viniferous grapes were delivered via Spanish conquistadors in the mid-1500s, and a successful wine industry grew over the next two centuries. But modern winemaking began in the 1800s as many French and Italian varietals were introduced, along with an influx of winemakers and winemaking expertise. What did not arrive in Chile was the dreaded root louse phylloxera, the disease that later wreaked havoc and devastated most of Europe’s vineyards.

The foundation was laid with the raw materials to have Chile become a world leader in viticulture and winemaking, although this was left underexploited until Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s dark age of dictatorship was snuffed out in the late 1980s. It was then that domestic wineries began looking to the international market for support and foreign wine interests started pouring money and technology at what they believe to be a vastly untapped and under appreciated wine industry.

One of the most important imports to Chile’s wine revitalization was a chic Frenchwoman, Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle, whose great grandfather invented Grand Marnier. Lapostolle began scouting Chile in the early 1990s for vineyard land and an appropriate site to build a winery. In 1994 she and her husband, Cyril de Bournet, founded Casa Lapostolle and went about exploring what pre-phylloxera rootstocks could produce. Now, a decade later, the results are in and can be summed up with a WOW!

With particular emphasis on the “tete de cuvee” from the house of Lapostolle called Clos Apalta (named after its vineyard source), which is an old style Bordeaux blend. I say old style because its blend consists of a fair amount of carmenere (up to 40 percent), and this was a predominant grape of Bordeaux before the scourge of phylloxera.

Carmenere is now Chile’s secret weapon, rediscovered in 1991 after being mistaken for merlot. Like cabernet franc, carmenere can be a bit rough and green-peppery, but when properly ripened it has a silky texture and spicy, raspberry flavor. Whether it can be a standalone superstar of the Chilean wine scene remains to be seen, but the spectacular Clos Apalta is a testament to this grape’s amazing potential as a blending component. If any of you were astute enough to acquire the already legendary 2001 Apalta, please let this cork-dork know, as I would be more than happy to assist in its assessment. The good news is that the 2002 vintage is soon to be released.

Another collaboration of considerable note is the marriage between Napa’s Robert Mondavi and the venerable Chilean winery Errazuriz, which resulted in a phenomenal wine called Sena. The first of the superpremium ($50 plus) Chilean reds to hit the market, it is also a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and carmenere.

But the most distinguished of bloodlines that any Chilean winery can lay claim has to be Almaviva, the love child of Bordeaux’s Baron Philippe de Rothschild (partner to Robert Mondavi with Opus One) and Chile’s Concha y Toro, the first Chilean winery to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The Almaviva is a stunning example of the direction of the new Chilean super reds coming into the marketplace. An assemblage of cabernet, carmenere, and cabernet franc, this massive wine can stand up to any big red made in any wine region of the world.

Founded in 1988, Chile’s homegrown Montes Winery is also a rising star. The Montes Alpha “M” is the flagship wine of the estate.

It’s looking to be a bright future for the ultra-premium, new-wave Chilean luxury wine producers, as most all of these $50-plus limited production wines are selling out just about as fast as they are released. The good news for the average, every day wine drinker is that along with these “trophy” wines there is also a slew of great affordable wines being produced in Chile that are worth perusing and consuming.

I’d encourage anyone interested in exploring great wines that also represent great values (comparatively speaking) to seek out the wines of Chile. They’ve come a long way from the clippings of conquistadors and unrealized expectations to today’s success.

Jeff Wicklund, wine consultant and writer, is the proprietor of Colby Hospitality in Everett. He can be reached at 425-317-9858, or wick@colbyhospitality.com.

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