Viña Errazuriz Tasting
Patrick McGrath MW returned to Oxford this evening to present the wines of Viña Errazuriz from Chile. I’ve always enjoyed these wines, although much of the range has struck me as competent rather than excellent. This is by no means meant as a criticism as the wines still offer very good value for money at their price points. It is several years since I last had the opportunity to taste their range, at which point the Wild Ferment Chardonnay and Don Maximiano clearly stood out from the others in terms of quality.
As a country, I don’t need persuading that Chile is already producing some of the best quality and best value wines in the New World. Their appeal to me is the traditional style in which they are made, much less showy than Australia for example (ooh – broad generalisation!) I’ve head Chile described as the most “English” county of South America, and the wines I have tasted thus far do have a subtle, refined elegance so often missing outside of Europe. They suit my palate; for others they may not. Patrick described them as “New world wines with old world elegance”, resulting from longer ripening periods and greater balance.
We were introduced to Chile and specifically the Aconcagua Valley region. With a thin strip of country sandwiched between the Pacific and the Andes, no other country has such a range of climates coupled with such ideal climatic conditions. This contributes to a great diversity in the types of wines they [Chile] are able to produce. The cold Humbolt current of the Pacific ensures coastal regions are kept cool, with the temperature rising further inland, though moderated by cool air from the Andes.
In most of the viticultural areas the coastal range of hills shelters the inland vineyards, such as in Central Valley. Aconcagua Valley, however, is open ended onto the coast, giving a spectrum of climatic regions as one moves inland. On the western coastal side the maritime influence suits cooler climate grape varieties, whilst further inland to the east even the climate suits shiraz. This range of conditions is nearly unique, perhaps only comparable to Sonoma or similar Californian coastal areas.
Vintages are very consistent, never experiencing rain at vintage time. Odd years including 2007 and 2005 (outstanding) have been particularly good of late.
Errazuriz is family run, currently by Eduardo Chadwick who visited OUWS some years previously. Don Maximiano Errazuriz founded Viña Errazuriz in 1870 in the Aconcagua Valley, 100 kms north of Santiago. Eduardo Chadwick is the sixth generation of his family to be involved in the wine business. In 1995 they were the first to plant vines on the valley slopes rather than the valley floor in order to naturally reduce yields.
Chile currently has approximately 8% of the UK market.
For me the Wild Ferment wines both stand head and shoulders above the rest (particularly the Chardonnay) although the Max Reserva and Don Maximiano are clearly special wines. Errazuriz have no plans to make a Wild Ferment Shiraz, which I think is a real shame. They should reconsider!
Viña Errazuriz Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (Casablanca Valley)
14-15/20
Pale yellow, almost colourless. Cool aromatic nose, no oak. Lacking NZ intensity, less pyrazine, and better for it although less distinctive.
Viña Errazuriz Chardonnay 2006 (Casablanca Valley)
15/20
Very pale straw. Open nose. Butter character dominates on nose, but not overdone. Quite full palate, fresh apple. Short finish. Typically retailing for £6-7/bottle.
Viña Errazuriz Wild Ferment Chardonnay 2007 (Casablanca Valley)
16/20
Pale straw. Open attractive nose, earthy and distinctive. Obvious complexity, very Burgundian in character. Integrated oak, apple and exotic fruit. Very full palate, with plenty of flesh. Elegant with a nice finish. Around 2-3 years aging potential ahead of it.
Viña Errazuriz Wild Ferment Pinot Noir 2006 (Casablanca Valley)
15+/20
Patrick notes the PN is getting better – through better clones in better places, made in open top fermenters. Production of 2000 cases/year. French oak casks with 1/3 new.
Pale ruby. Very reminiscent of a German Spatburgunder. Earthy character on the nose again as per Wild Ferment Chardonnay – presumably from the wild yeast. A little hot and thin to my mind. An earthy PN style. Good length.
Viña Errazuriz Merlot 2007 (Curico)
15+/20
Purple edge, dark core. Open nose – herbaceous, spicy. Medicinal quality to it. Full, very new world in style. Full of fruit with very dry tannins.
Viña Errazuriz Shiraz 2005 (Aconcagua)
15+/20
Note the excellent vintage. Was previously bottled as syrah!
Deep core, not quite opaque. Very Rhone style, black spice character. Ripe, fine tannins. Earthy again. Short term potential.
Viña Errazuriz Max Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 200515-16/20
Note the excellent vintage. Max Reserva is made from five selected vineyards surrounding the winery. Stainless steel fermentation. 100% French barrique for approximately 18 months.
Pronounced blackcurrant nose. Dusky character. Balanced finish.
Viña Errazuriz Don Maximiano Founders Reserve 200516+/20
Predominantly cab sauvignon with a touch of petit verdot and also some cab franc and shiraz.
Notable deeper core compared to Max Reserva. Very pure, strong blackcurrant. Very fine, ripe tannins. Big, full bodied with a long finish. Very fine. Is this worth £30 though? Given comparable Clarets, I would say yes. This is clearly something special, although perhaps not to my personal style. Medium term aging potential, perhaps more – although I do not had the benefit of tasting older vintages of this.
Patrick McGrath MW returned to Oxford this evening to present the wines of Viña Errazuriz from Chile. I’ve always enjoyed these wines, although much of the range has struck me as competent rather than excellent. This is by no means meant as a criticism as the wines still offer very good value for money at their price points. It is several years since I last had the opportunity to taste their range, at which point the Wild Ferment Chardonnay and Don Maximiano clearly stood out from the others in terms of quality.
As a country, I don’t need persuading that Chile is already producing some of the best quality and best value wines in the New World. Their appeal to me is the traditional style in which they are made, much less showy than Australia for example (ooh – broad generalisation!) I’ve head Chile described as the most “English” county of South America, and the wines I have tasted thus far do have a subtle, refined elegance so often missing outside of Europe. They suit my palate; for others they may not. Patrick described them as “New world wines with old world elegance”, resulting from longer ripening periods and greater balance.
We were introduced to Chile and specifically the Aconcagua Valley region. With a thin strip of country sandwiched between the Pacific and the Andes, no other country has such a range of climates coupled with such ideal climatic conditions. This contributes to a great diversity in the types of wines they [Chile] are able to produce. The cold Humbolt current of the Pacific ensures coastal regions are kept cool, with the temperature rising further inland, though moderated by cool air from the Andes.
In most of the viticultural areas the coastal range of hills shelters the inland vineyards, such as in Central Valley. Aconcagua Valley, however, is open ended onto the coast, giving a spectrum of climatic regions as one moves inland. On the western coastal side the maritime influence suits cooler climate grape varieties, whilst further inland to the east even the climate suits shiraz. This range of conditions is nearly unique, perhaps only comparable to Sonoma or similar Californian coastal areas.
Vintages are very consistent, never experiencing rain at vintage time. Odd years including 2007 and 2005 (outstanding) have been particularly good of late.
Errazuriz is family run, currently by Eduardo Chadwick who visited OUWS some years previously. Don Maximiano Errazuriz founded Viña Errazuriz in 1870 in the Aconcagua Valley, 100 kms north of Santiago. Eduardo Chadwick is the sixth generation of his family to be involved in the wine business. In 1995 they were the first to plant vines on the valley slopes rather than the valley floor in order to naturally reduce yields.
Chile currently has approximately 8% of the UK market.
For me the Wild Ferment wines both stand head and shoulders above the rest (particularly the Chardonnay) although the Max Reserva and Don Maximiano are clearly special wines. Errazuriz have no plans to make a Wild Ferment Shiraz, which I think is a real shame. They should reconsider!
Viña Errazuriz Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (Casablanca Valley)
14-15/20
Pale yellow, almost colourless. Cool aromatic nose, no oak. Lacking NZ intensity, less pyrazine, and better for it although less distinctive.
Viña Errazuriz Chardonnay 2006 (Casablanca Valley)
15/20
Very pale straw. Open nose. Butter character dominates on nose, but not overdone. Quite full palate, fresh apple. Short finish. Typically retailing for £6-7/bottle.
Viña Errazuriz Wild Ferment Chardonnay 2007 (Casablanca Valley)
16/20
Pale straw. Open attractive nose, earthy and distinctive. Obvious complexity, very Burgundian in character. Integrated oak, apple and exotic fruit. Very full palate, with plenty of flesh. Elegant with a nice finish. Around 2-3 years aging potential ahead of it.
Viña Errazuriz Wild Ferment Pinot Noir 2006 (Casablanca Valley)
15+/20
Patrick notes the PN is getting better – through better clones in better places, made in open top fermenters. Production of 2000 cases/year. French oak casks with 1/3 new.
Pale ruby. Very reminiscent of a German Spatburgunder. Earthy character on the nose again as per Wild Ferment Chardonnay – presumably from the wild yeast. A little hot and thin to my mind. An earthy PN style. Good length.
Viña Errazuriz Merlot 2007 (Curico)
15+/20
Purple edge, dark core. Open nose – herbaceous, spicy. Medicinal quality to it. Full, very new world in style. Full of fruit with very dry tannins.
Viña Errazuriz Shiraz 2005 (Aconcagua)
15+/20
Note the excellent vintage. Was previously bottled as syrah!
Deep core, not quite opaque. Very Rhone style, black spice character. Ripe, fine tannins. Earthy again. Short term potential.
Viña Errazuriz Max Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 200515-16/20
Note the excellent vintage. Max Reserva is made from five selected vineyards surrounding the winery. Stainless steel fermentation. 100% French barrique for approximately 18 months.
Pronounced blackcurrant nose. Dusky character. Balanced finish.
Viña Errazuriz Don Maximiano Founders Reserve 200516+/20
Predominantly cab sauvignon with a touch of petit verdot and also some cab franc and shiraz.
Notable deeper core compared to Max Reserva. Very pure, strong blackcurrant. Very fine, ripe tannins. Big, full bodied with a long finish. Very fine. Is this worth £30 though? Given comparable Clarets, I would say yes. This is clearly something special, although perhaps not to my personal style. Medium term aging potential, perhaps more – although I do not had the benefit of tasting older vintages of this.
No comments:
Post a Comment