Chile day 6 - Errazuriz

Chile Day 6. Today I visited one of the largest wineries in Chile, Errazuriz. Errazuriz is located in the Aconcagua Valley, north of Santiago. I was first met by Mr. Pedro Olivia Farias in Public Relations who showed me part of the vineyard, plus their winery processing facilities. It was very informative. Pedro showed me the upgrades that Errazuriz has done to the winery, and changes upcoming to make it more sustainable. Gravity fed, using thermal heating from the ground, natural lighting and more. He also provided me a brief history of the Errazuriz winery, which started in the late 1880's up to today. Today the winery is completely owned by 4 family members. He also described to me the different wineries owned by Errazuriz, which include Arboleda, Sena, and Caliterra, and the different emphasis of each winery. I found out that Canada is the 2nd largest market to Errazuriz, behind the UK. That was quite amazing.

After the tour by Pedro, I was handed over to winemaker, Mr. Rodrigo Zamorano. Rodrigo spent a lot of time with me and went into much depth about the Aconcagua Valley and each of the 9 different wines we sampled together. Errazuriz is the largest winery in the Aconcagua Valley and is the only valley to have a continuous valley up to the Andes. This allows the coastal fogs to reach far in land moderating the temperatures in the Aconcagua Valley. He also mentioned that they started a new vineyard area called Manzanar near the coast in the Aconcagua Valley where they are trying white varietals plus pinot noir. They are just starting to produce wines from this area so time will tell which varietals produce the wines up to their standards.

As i mentioned, I tried 8 different wines, from the Estate Level, Reserve Level, and their top level wine, Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve. To keep this blog brief, I will tell you about one white and one red I enjoyed, and then provide the full tastings notes when i am back in Canada. For the white wine, I enjoyed their 2007 Wild Ferment Chardonnay from the Casablanca Valley. This is a 100% barrel fermented wine, using all French oak. One third of the wine went through malolactic fermentation to provide a more round mouthfeel and butteriness. I've tried this wine in the past in Vancouver, and enjoyed it this time with the wine maker Rodrigo. The wine had lots of vanilla, caramel and tropical fruit on the nose. Very aromatic. Full bodied, with tropical fruit and vanilla flavours. Very smooth, but still had some acid to balance it. It had a long length with a spicy finish. Rodrigo suggested aging it for a year to integrate more in the bottle, but I thought it was fine already.

For the red wine, I enjoyed the 2007 Max Reserva Carmenere from the Aconcagua Valley. This wine spent 12 months oak aging. 2007 is the first vintage for the vines selected for this wine. It had a deep purple color in the glass. Cassis, smoke, black cherry, and oak on the nose. Black cherries, vanilla and cassis flavours. Smooth tannins. It had a long length, with a spice and red cherry finish. Highly recommended.

That is all for now. Tomorrow is visiting the Maipo Valley. Three wineries in one day. Should be a big day. Saludos!

Chile day 2 - Valparaiso

Chile Day 5. Valparaiso. Today was a day of up and downs, that is from riding on funciulars along the steep slopes of Valparaiso. This is an interesting coastal city. The upper hills have many small B&B, restaurants and art galleries. Many of the walls along the narrow cobbled streets are painted with murals. For those wondering what a funicular is, it can best be described as an outside elevator, that has a track and cable going up the side of a steep hillside. The funiculars in Valparaiso are built between 1893 and 1915. The “cars” are built of wood and does take some faith that they are in good condition for riding. But they run daily several times every hour as the cars get full. It is an interesting experience.

Today beside going up and down the hillsides, I did have a chance to try more Chilean wine. This evening with dinner I ordered a bottle of Dona Dominga Carmenere 2008. This wine is from San Fernando, in the Colchagua Valley south of Santiago. This wine was very purple coloured, and looked very much like Malbec. On the nose, there was leather, tar and herbal notes. It was very round in the mouth, with juicy black fruit and plum flavours. There was a bit of spice as well. I paired this with grilled lamb chops that came with a creamy green pepper sauce and mashed potatoes. Another nice pairing.

Tomorrow i will visit the Errazuriz winery and time permitting, another winery nearby. That's all for now. Saludos!v

Chile Day 4 - Casas del Bosque

Chile day 4. Today was my first day of official wine tasting at a winery here in Chile. My visit was to the Casas del Bosque winery. It is about a 1.5 hr ride from Santiago to Casas del Bosque. We left with semi-sunny skies around Santiago until we passed through a tunnel that on the other side was the start of the Casablanca Valley. We immediately hit the coastal fog which is famous for the valley. I met with a very informative lady named Judith Ramirez Aquirre. Judith took me through some of the vines surrounding the winery. As it is spring here in Chile, there are no berries yet. The vines have started to sprout leaves and some have the buds for the grapes which have yet to bloom. Grape vines i am told bloom in November in Chile. That there are buds now is surprising to the people at the winery. They mentioned that it was the Pinot Noir vines that were 3 weeks advanced. There was also chardonnay and sauvignon blanc vines around which were still with very small leaves forming. After walking through the vines, we viewed the crushing area, the stainless steel fermentation vats, the oak barrel aging room, and the bottling line, before we moved to the Tasting Room. Judith led me through a tasting of 8 wines. We started with Sauvignon Blanc, then to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a red blend. All the grapes are from the Casablanca Valley, except for the Cab, which was from the Rapel Valley. Although I do not have time to go through all the wines today, I'll point out a few, and then when i'm back in Canada, i'll provide all my tasting notes on www.mywinepal.com. One wine of note was the 2009 Casas del Bosque Sauvignon Blanc Reserva (unbelievable being a 2009 vintage, while the Okanagan is still harvesting grapes). This is made very much in a New World (New Zealand) style. This one was pale lemon with a green tint. Lots of gooseberry and herbal on the nose, and a bit of celery. Good acidity, with gooseberry, herbal, celery and green apple flavours. Pair with some oysters on the half shell or lightly cooked fish for a nice complement. On the red wine side, I will make note of the 2008 Casas del Bosque Pinot Noir Gran Reserva. This wine spent 9 months in french oak. They like to use 2-3 year French oak barrels as much as possible for all their barrel aged wines so the oak is there, but not in your face. This one had a wide range of aromas. Strawberry, oak, red cherry, dill and mushroom at first, but then some vanilla on the nose. The wine was quite fruity. Lots of red cherry, but also some dill and vanilla. Quite smooth, medium length, and a dry finish. I'd try this with grilled salmon, or pan fried chicken breast with vegetables and herbs. That is all for now. I'm in Valparaiso enjoying the views of this UNESCO World heritage site. Saludos.

Chile Day 3 - Cerro San Cristobol

Today was touring of the trendy Bellavista neighbourhood and then take the funicular train up the Cerro San Cristobal to get panoramic view of the city, a peek at the Andes mountains and the large Virgin Mary statue overlooking the city. If you are looking for handicrafts and/or lapis lazuli jewelry, then Bellavista is a good place to look. Lunch time is good for fixed price menus for a reasonable price. This lunch it was a carrot fritatta type appetizer, followed by salmon topped with asparagus and cream sauce with mashed potatoes mixed with avocado and sausage, followed by a mango/chocolate mousse, and a Cristal beer. It should have been a nap after that big lunch, but I had to get up the funicular as it was a beautiful sunny day today. Dinner of course had wine. For dinner today it was pizza. I had the “portofino” pizza which had ground beef, chopped mushrooms, chopped heart of palm, and kernels of corn. Quite tasty. Maybe a new flavour for Panagopolus? What was the wine? I tried the Botalcura El Delirio Reserva. This is a Syrah / Malbec blend. I chose this specifically because Malbec is typically grown in Argentina, not Chile. This was a big wine, opaque purple in the glass. Ripe black fruit and tar nose but then opened up to show some oak, and further in the meal, chocolate, vanilla and black cherry. I attribute this wide range of aromas to be from the Malbec grape as i've tried many other malbecs and the wines continually evolve in your glass. Very nice. On the palate, it was ripe black fruit, ripe plums with medium spice and soft tannins. Tomorrow is my first official visit at a winery. Which one? Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog entry.

Chile - Day 2

Day 2 in Chile. Sunday is a day for families in Chile. Many go out to parks or restaurants. Took the subway from the Providencia neighbourhood to the Plaza de Armas, a central plaza downtown. Many street vendors in the surrounding streets selling books, scarfs, candies and more, Just north of the plaza is the Central Mercado which is a large building filled with fish mongers and seafood restaurants. I enjoyed a grilled conger eel with Kunstmann beer (sorry not wine). I did save wine for dinner. A small German style restaurant close to the hotel, serving traditional Chilean food and wine, of course. Dinner was Carne Mechada with french fries. The Atkins diet is in full force in Chile. Lots of protein everywhere for dinner. The carne was two thick slices of marinated slow roasted super tender beef brisket. To this I paired a Cousino Macul Don Luis Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. This wine was deep purple in the glass, Earthy, plum and leather nose. Lots of spice, tar black fruit, cassis flavours. Round mouthfeel with medium tannins. A very nice pairing. And served in a half bottle. All restaurants that i've visited so far offer a number of half bottles. They are a nice size for a meal for 1 or 2 people. it would be nice if more half bottles were available on restaurant lists in Vancouver. Tomorrow is a national holiday in Chile, so i'm hoping there are a few restaurants nearby. Saludos.

Chile Day 1

Day 1 in Santiago Chile. Landing in Santiago and getting through Customs was a breeze. Being able to speak a bit of Spanish helps though. Checking into the Hotel Orly around noon, and it is time for lunch. Lunch today was a Chilean style hotdog, which they add in their “Completo”, sauerkraut and avocado. Quite tasty. At 5pm a local snack of empanada pino, which is a small baked bread filled with ground meat, egg, and olives. That left me with enough energy to wait till early dinner at 8pm at “La Liguria” on Manuel Montt Street. My friend Alejandro recommended this restaurant to me, and the food was very good. My wife and I shared a grilled slice of Corvina fish, a lomo (beef) steak, Chilean salad (peeled tomatoes, sliced onions, cilantro, chile, and vinegar. And of course some wine for this dinner. My wine for the evening as a Terranoble Reserve Carmenere. Carmenere is of course the signature red grape of Chile. This wine was deep purple in the glass, very ripe fruit nose and very fruity with soft tannins, and not a hint of capsicum aroma or flavour. It went very nicely with dinner. Stay tuned for tomorrow's adventures in Chile! Saludos!

Celebrate Argentina Wines 2009

Having both the Wines of Chile and the Wines of Argentina in the same week have been taxing, but very fulfilling. I tried many new wines from many new wineries this week, and I look forward to seeing these new wines in our government and private wine shops. On this post I focus on the Argentina event.

Argentina has been making wines over the last 300 years, with most of the consumption within the country. Over the past 20 years exports of Argentinean wine has grown. Canada is now starting to get many more Argentinean wines.

For this tasting, there was of course many bottles of Malbec to taste, but also now a wide range of other varietals such as Semillon, Pinot Noir, Torrontes (the signature white grape of Argentina) and Petit Verdot! I was particularly suprised to see the Pinot Noir as it is such a finicky grape and loves cool climate, while the major wine region of Argentina, Mendoza, is quite hot and Malbec thrives there. I also enjoyed watching the Argentinean tango being danced at the event.

So what were some of the highlight wines that I came across at this evening's event?

- Urraca Chardonnay 2008. This wine had a nice oaky, earthy nose. Round in the mouth with nice lemon flavour and a long finish. Not overly oaked. This winery needs an agent so we can see their wines.
- Juana del Sol Chardonnay 2009. This wine has understated elegance. Pale lemon in colour with a light oak nose. Round. Vanilla and stone fruit flavours. They also need an agent.
- Sur de los Andes Torrontes 2008. Medium lemon coloured. Light pine needle aroma. FULL flavour. Pine needles and apples with a grapefruit finish. Maybe try instead of a Sauvignon Blanc sometime.
- Filus Reserva Malbec 2007. Deep purple in the glass. Ripe sweet red fruit with cherry liquor flavours. Vanilla, red fruit and plum on the nose. Tannic finish, but not unpleasant. This winery needs an agent.
- Aconcagua Malbec 2008. Deep purple coloured. Very aromatic. Smoky, herbal, cherry aromas. Smoky, earthy and dark fruit flavours with a cherry finish. Nice round mouth feel. One of my favorites, and should be around $15 when it comes to BC.
- Sottano Cabernet Sauvignon 2006. Medium garnet in the glass. Classic cassis nose. Cassis and cherry on the palate. Lots of fruit flavour and low tannins.

There is a peek at a few of the wines of the evening. There were many more, and I'll be posting them on www.mywinepal.com in the Wine Reviews section. Keep your eyes open for these wines coming soon to BC. Salud!