and Gran Reserva levels. (TerraNoble
is also deeply involved in trials with
Carmenere.) Root:1, the simple child, is
a throwback to Chile’s bang-for-buck era,
but in a self-aware way as the brand name
ties in to Chile’s heritage of phylloxera-
free vines planted on ungrafted rootstock.
Root:1 has become an emblem of modern
Chilean value—the success of their $10
Cabernet has enabled the brand to extend
into Carmenere, Sauvignon Blanc and
Pinot Noir.
Chile’s diversity is also happening
in a more overtly innovative sense via
surprising grapes. At the Wines of Chile
“
Tapestry of Terroir” walkaround in New
York City in June, there was excellent
Syrah (De Martino “Legado” is a stand-
out). There was Malbec (Calcu) and
Riesling (Meli) and Gewürztraminer
(
Cartegena). I sampled commendable
Pinot Noirs under $20 (Llai Llai, Cono
Sur). There was a late-harvest wine and
rosé wine and wild-yeast Chardonnay…
even a single-vineyard País. Biggest eye-
opener of all? Carignan. There were a
handful at the trade tasting. I was later
able to try several Old Vine Carignans in
a separate tasting; these are serious wines
with tremendous aromatics, structure and
spicy intensity.
New Toys:
Carmenere & Blends
While typical and atypical varietal wines
capture some of Chile’s evolving innova-
tion, what is happening with Carmenere
and blends is even more exciting. Carme-
nere, of course, is the “forgotten” grape
which disappeared from France in the
19
th
century but grew in Chile, mistaken
for Merlot until genetically identified in
1994.
It is a challenging red grape, late to
ripen and prone to a green character. But
that’s a challenge the Chileans are em-
bracing, with results that improve each
vintage. Personal favorites include Casa
Silva, Emiliana and Santa Carolina in the
$12 range; Viu Manent “Secreto,” Mon-
tes Alpha and Santa Rita “Medalla Real”
in the $20 range. Few expect Carmenere
to become a star in its own right, à la
Malbec, but it has filled an important role
as a point of distinction in the market.
It’s a bit like a new toy—a tasty one at
that—and as Chile’s third most-planted
red grape, we can expect plenty more new
twists in Carmenere vintages to come.
Who knows—ten years from now, we
may find out that Carmenere may become
more successful in blends than flying
solo. This much is certain: blending is
rampant in Chile already. At the Tapestry
of Terroir tasting, the 36 producers
were pouring 30 Carmeneres (not a
surprise)—and 44 wines with Carmenere
in the blend (hello!). Just as Chilean
wine regions have no rule for what can
be planted where, the country enjoys no
constraints on blending—leading to an
almost dizzying array of combinations,
many of which follow neither Bordeaux
nor Rhône models.
While many of Chile’s “icon” wines
are blends, many are very reasonably
priced. MontGras’s Quatro, for instance,
is a mid-teens combo of Cabernet Sau-
vignon, Carmenere, Syrah and Malbec;
lovely ripe fruit, balancing tang and just a
touch of grip. On the white side, Anake-
na’s “Ona” is a lush, tropical mix of Viog-
nier, Chardonnay and Riesling.
Of course, given that Chile produces
mostly red wines (75%), it’s no surprise
that most of the blends are red. While
Cabernet Sauvignon still represents the
#1
bottled import from Chile, innovative
blends—particularly ones that break tra-
dition with standard European recipes are
on the rise, at all price points.
Statement Wines
A quick scan of the Chilean section at a
good retailer reveals that many of the ul-
trapremium wines reaching us today are
proprietary blends—Almaviva, Montes
“
M,” Clos Apalta, Seña, Santa Rita “Pehu-
en,” Los Vascos “Le Dix,” Domus Aurea
and Altair, to name a few. These wines are
crafted (and priced) to make a statement.
Planting the right
grapes in the right
places is neither magic
nor guesswork; it’s
agriculture and science,
and the system is
working in Chile.
Leyda (founded 1997)—nestled in the Chile’s
coastal mountain range, in its namesake Leyda
Valley—specializes in cool-climate Sauvignon
Blanc, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; they also utilize
a diverse selection of barrel types.
Viña Falernia (founded 1998) is situated in the
semi-arid Elqui Valley, Chile’s closest wine region
to the equator. They basically turned a tract of
desert into a vineyard, planting Carmenere, Syrah,
Sauvignon Blanc and Pedro Ximenez.
