Birth of the cool

Cool is the new hot in Chile, with wineries buying land in ever more marginal spots, and new regions springing up all the time. The result is wines as startling as they are stunning

Story number one: in the Wine & Spirit Education Trust book from 10 years ago, Chile received one page of copy – less (and this takes some believing) than that dedicated to German wine classifications. Just four ‘key regions’ were mentioned: Aconcagua, Maipo, Casablanca and Curicó.

Story number two: the first time I was in Chile, in 2002, nearly everything I tasted came from the Central Valley. Growers were talking vaguely about cool-climate regions – places like Limarí and Leyda – but I never actually tried any wines from them. One or two muttered about Syrah having potential, but again, I never tasted any apart from what must have been the first-ever bottling (possibly experimental) of, I think, Montes Folly.

Go back just six years and Chile was a country that, viticulturally speaking, hadn’t changed all that much in the previous hundred years. Sure, grape-growing techniques were better, and there was less País and a lot more Cabernet, but in terms of what was planted and, crucially, where it was planted (bar the emergence of the Casablanca Valley), it was a set-up that would probably have been familiar to anyone involved in the industry at the turn of the 20th century.

To say there have been big developments in the past 10 years is to understate the case by a factor of about 20. This is an industry that has not so much evolved as changed out of all recognition in not much more time than it takes to make a Riojan gran reserva.

And if you thought you had a rough idea what Chilean wine was all about, unless you’ve formulated those opinions over the past two years through exhaustive tastings and (probably) a visit to the country itself, then the chances are you haven’t.

Putting on the style

In our Bus of Many Nationalities, everyone described their astonishment at what they were seeing. They couldn’t get over the number of different varietals on display; the number of different regions; the number of different styles. A country that 10 years ago was all about Cabernet, Merlot and Chardonnay was now showing spicy Syrahs, elegant Rieslings, exotic Sauvignons, juicy Pinot Noirs. A tasting of 12 Carmenères alone had more stylistic diversity than would an equivalent line-up of Burgundies. 

No wonder our tasters had the slightly shell-shocked expressions of a group who had expected a quiet game of ludo only to be exposed to Grand Theft Auto on a six-foot plasma screen.

So what on earth has been going on?

The answer is ‘cool climate’. Everyone has known for a long time that it’s easy to make good, appealing wine in the easy warmth of Chile’s Central Valley – the flat bit between the Andes and the Coastal Range of mountains. These are the sort of wines that justifiably established Chile’s reputation as a producer of easy-drinking, value-for-money wines.

Sauvignon Blanc has probably been the

biggest beneficiary of Chile’s rush for cooler areas

They’re still better than those that pretty much any other country can make for the price (try comparing Casillero del Diablo to other big brands), but for those who want to make great wine it’s obvious that the Central Valley ain’t Pomerol. Ripeness isn’t the problem; finesse is – and finesse only comes with lower temperatures.

Now, if you want coolness in Chile you have four options. From the central growing area between Aconcagua (just north of Santiago) and Maule 300km to the south, you can go north, south, east or west.

East is hardest, since it means up into the Andean foothills, where the extra altitude lowers the temperatures at night. At the moment, most of the work up here is experimental and the few vineyards are in the early stages, but given the current pace of change in Chile, it would be no surprise at all if we were trying a whole slew of wines from an Andes-designated sub-appellation in a decade or so’s time.

The further south you head in Chile, the cooler and wetter (you might say the more European!) it gets. In the past, this meant it was harder to ripen the likes of Cabernet, and places like Itata or Bío Bío (500km south of Santiago) were used for producing undistinguished bulk wine, often out of the ignoble but hardy País grape.

Cool and classy

In fact, for those growers who have had the courage to swap the sunblock for a cagoule, the results are impressive – particularly if you’re looking for restaurant wine. Grapes such as Riesling, Gewürztraminer, old-vine Carignan, Sauvignon Blanc and particularly Pinot Noir have a very different flavour profile here from their sunnier brethren to the north. The fruit is ripe, but less upfront; the wines themselves more about minerality, with a natural mid-palate crunchiness to them.

‘The Bío Bío Sauvignon Blancs we tried were probably the most exciting expressions of that grape for me,’ mused Terry Threlfall of Chez Bruce. ‘They were citrus and mineral, rather than tropical.’

Sauvignon Blanc, in fact, has probably been the biggest beneficiary of Chile’s rush for cooler areas. Now the country’s most-planted white grape (overtaking Chardonnay a couple of years back), it’s found all over the place, though its spiritual homeland in Chile remains the Casablanca Valley.

Incredibly, given its powerful influence, the latter was only discovered in 1990. Halfway between Santiago and the coast, fog is the key to its success, with great banks of the stuff sitting stubbornly over the vines until lunchtime, burning off for an afternoon of solid ripening, then rolling back in again at night.

Our team of international sommeliers were astonished to watch the mercury drop from 25°C near Santiago to half that in Casablanca; from Ray-Ban daylight to Dickensian murk in the
space of five minutes.

Broadly speaking, closeness to the Pacific is the

dominant factor in the search for Chilean cool climate

Though Casablanca Sauvignons have a riper, more tropical flavour profile than Marlborough Sauvignons, with less grassy character, the structure is similar, with a powerful aromatic blast of fruit and a tapering finish. The sommeliers felt they would be useful cheaper alternatives to the ever-pricier Marlboroughs. Likewise the Pinot Noirs, particularly if the country resists the temptation to seek too much oak and colour.

‘Chile can capitalise on its Pinots because of the price,’ said Glendola Leisure’s Will Buckland. ‘It can come in at the low £20s on a list, and for that you just need simple fruit. They can dominate the category.’

In fact, if money is less of an issue, the group felt that the country’s classiest, most elegant Pinots came not from Casablanca, but from Leyda, part of the north/south-running San Antonio Valley.

If you haven’t heard of the latter, you should have, because it’s currently one of the most exciting new wine regions in the world. Some of the vineyards are just 4km from the Pacific, which makes them decidedly cool. On the hottest summer days, fanned by the sea breezes, the temperature never exceeds 21°C.

Maria Luz Marín of the exceptional Casa Marín (Boutinot) describes it as a ‘hot spot in a cold climate’, and her magnificent Riesling, Gewurz, Sauvignon Blancs and Syrah were, for many of the sommeliers, the highlight of the trip. Poised, focused and minerally, with a thrilling natural acidity, they clearly showed the sort of wines that could come to epitomise cool-climate Chile.

Pacific influence

In fact, broadly speaking, closeness to the Pacific is the dominant factor in the search for Chilean cool climate. There are greater differences in moving 20km east to west than there are going 200km north to south on the same longitude. Aconcagua, for instance, home to Errazuriz and Viña von Siebenthal, is best known for silky, powerhouse reds. But the former unveiled a stunning Aconcagua Sauvignon Blanc from its new Manzanar Estate vineyard, grown just 10km from the sea.

It’s the reason why Limarí and Elqui, way up north, are both considered cool climate, despite being on the fringes of the Atacama Desert. Move inland up here and it’s swelteringly hot, with the grapes no good for anything but pisco. But with no Coastal Range to protect them, the Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay vineyards only 20km from the ocean are buffeted by the Pacific winds.

The Limarí Syrahs, in particular, show enormous potential, with fine-grained powdery tannins and a dialled-down earthy spiciness that, if they had been tasted blind, would have seen most of our sommeliers place them firmly in Europe, with perhaps only their affordability giving them away as Chilean.

In fact, if you are looking for one grape that symbolises the rebirth of Chile, it’s probably Syrah. It’s grown everywhere, from Maipo to Maule, Colchagua to Casablanca, Leyda to Limarí, and the variety of styles is breathtaking.

From the big, salacious powerhouses of Rapel to the winsome beauty of San Antonio; the savoury spices of Limarí to bright cheery fruits of Casablanca, this is a grape that, perhaps more than any other, proves just how much Chile has to offer now its cool-climate areas are fully online.

If your current range of Chilean listings stretches no further than one Cabernet and one Sauvignon Blanc, then it’s time for a rethink – you’re missing out on some of the New World’s most exciting wines.

Sommeliers on… Syrah

Alvaro Marcos garcia, Theo Randall

‘There are really big differences in the styles of the regions. The Limarí wines are much tighter, whereas Casablanca and San Antonio are more about spice and concentration of fruit. Colchagua is bigger and more upfront, with big tannins. In fact, Chile has more potential with Syrah than I expected, with the best ones fruit-driven rather than those looking at high-toast oak. Chile will always be known first for its Cabernets, but it could become famous for its Syrah, too. It’s obviously a grape that responds well to the different microclimates of the country.’

Alvaro’s top Syrah: Matetic EQ Syrah 2006, Genesis Wines

Will Buckland, Glendola Leisure

Generally, Syrah was the varietal that excited me the most, especially from the cool-climate sites. They’re elegant and refined, with nice fruit, but good peppery elements, too. They’re the kind of wines you want to keep drinking more of, which is a good sign. Chile can really pioneer this style of Syrah, and it will suit the UK market really well. San Antonio is a real region to watch out for.

Will’s top Syrah: Tabalí Reserva Especial Syrah 2007, Limari, Boutinot

Editorial feature from Imbibe Magazine - January / February 2009

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