The devil's cellar

Today I'm back in the Maipo Valley to visit the classic Concha y Toro, one of the oldest wineries in Chile. They are most known in the US for value wines. It was great to see the expansive property and cellars. Their production is over 15 million liters of wine per year. They own several labels around Chile. One of them, Cono Sur, located in the south, won a couple of the Wines of Chile awards last night. They also have a premium wine that they don't export, which is a collaboration with Baron Phillipe de Rothschild in France.

Security is tight at Concha y Toro. In the olden days they had a problem with theft in the original cellar that held the family's wines, so they started a rumor that the cellar was guarded by the devil. After that they didn't notice any more missing bottles - people were very superstitious then. Now they commemorate that story with a line of value wines called Casillero del Diablo, the devil's cellar.

I had a classic empanada for lunch after my tour with a glass of their Terrunyo Carmenere 2006, which was a good complement to this meat pastry. To be frank, I didn't make this visit for the wine but for the history.

Next up - another classic, Santa Rita!

Vinos de Chile - the Oscars

I managed to get myself invited to the 7th Annual Wines of Chile Awards Dinner last night, which took place at a golf course in Santiago. A panel of Canadian journalists (aka wine critics) judged the wines blind this week and the results were announced at this gala dinner, Academy Awards-style. It was very entertaining and I met some very interesting people, including the first Master Sommelier in Canada; there are only 2 in the country. Representatives from over 100 wineries were there, and I drank Casa Silva Syrah with the business manager sitting at my table. The dinner was a buffet of traditional Chilean foods from the north, central, and south. I don't think I made it to the south because there was too much food. It was heaven, with lots of seafood and Sauvignon Blanc. My favorite SB was from Montes, which is in the Colchagua Valley. After the food and formalities a Russian DJ played Chilean salsa music and American pop. The Chileans love this stuff! They don't know who Michael Jackson was but they know they like his music.

None of the winners were wineries that I am visiting on my trip, but it was a memorable cultural experience nevertheless. Special thanks to my new friend Fred (a fellow NYer and a Master Sommelier himself) for taking me to this event!

Errazuriz: it's a tongue-twister

Funny coincidence about this place in Aconcagua Valley, Chile. The owner of Paumanok Vineyards in Long Island (where I have been before and written about in the past) married a Chilean and had their Chilean marriage ceremony at Errazuriz. You can see from the pic that this is a beautiful building, and the vineyards set in the hills are even more beautiful. I had lunch first - an unexpectedly delicious 3 courses with 3 wines as follows:

1. Sauvignon Blanc 2009 - gooseberry, herbs, fresh acidity - paired with caperberries on cream cheese toast followed by an appetizer of fresh mushrooms with red pepper and cilantro. I happen to strongly dislike both mushrooms and cilantro BUT since I had prepaid for the lunch and didn't even know what I was going to get I gave it a shot. It was actually really good; the 'shrooms were super fresh and didn't have that mushroomy taste and smell that I don't like, and the cilantro just worked. With the wine - a match made in heaven.
2. Merlot 2007 - medium body with strawberry and chocolate - a great complement to the classic Chilean dish pastel de choclo, which sounds like a dessert but is a corn cake pie with beef, chicken, hard boiled egg and a few random raisins. I was psyched to try this because my tour guide had been telling me about it. It was hearty and yummy.
3. Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2007 - heavenly honey and baked apple - perfectly paired with flan/creme brulee.

Energized and buzzed, I climbed one of the hills with my PR guide Pedro, noting the sandy soil with rocks underneath, and we talked climate and terroir. He told me that they use very modern techniques to guide their viticulture techniques, including vigor maps that use radiation to determine which plants to harvest first. The property is undergoing expansion and I saw the new buildings and winemaking facility.

They make a couple of wines that they call 'wild ferment' - these wines undergo natural fermentation without the addition of yeasts the way most wines are made. Instead they let the natural yeasts on the grape skins do the work when they are ready. I tried their wild ferment Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and, not to be trite, they did taste a bit more 'wild,' or like something that I'm not sure I can describe, something funky. Their Carmenere reinforced my earlier opinion that it is very similar to Cab Franc, and I learned that it was originally suspected to be as such when the ampelographer noticed something amiss in some Chilean Merlot vineyards in 1991. By 1994 it was confirmed to be Carmenere, and after the vines were separated the first single varietal Carmenere was released in 1996. Now they know that Merlot ripens more quickly than Carmenere, and the earlier distinct taste of Chilean 'Merlot' could be attributed to the Carmenere being harvested too early and having 'green,' unripe flavors. Carmenere is now the last grape to be harvested in Chile, as it should be, during May. Harvest usually begins in February with the whites.

Ok I think that is enough wine-geekiness for one day! Chau for now (yes in Latin America they say Chau - at first I thought people were mistaking me for Italian and saying Ciao, but it seems they say the same word and spell it their own way).

Entiendo español de vino!

I had a great experience at Viña von Siebenthal in the Aconcagua Valley. I met the assistant winemaker, Darwin, and he confessed that he did not speak English. My guide, Lisette, offered to translate. My Spanish is so-so, but I said to her, let me see what I can understand and I'll let you know if I need an explanation. Happily, I understood almost everything Darwin said! So maybe my Spanish isn't so great but I can understand wine-Spanish, and that is good.

Viña von Siebenthal produces about 10,000 cases, a little bit smaller than Wiemer. They pick all the grapes by hand and sort twice, in the vineyard and in the winery. They only produce reds, which are stainless steel fermented and barrel aged. In the barrel the wines undergo spontaneous malolactic fermentation, which turns harsh natural acids into softer ones. They do not filter their wines. I tried their 2008 Carmenere and 2006 Parcel 7, a blend of Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc, and Petit Verdot - a very Bordelais blend. Both wines were delicious.

Before we left we tried a large yellow fruit off a tree on the vineyard property. It looked like a lumpy yellow grapefruit but had a very thick skin and tasted sour like a lemon at first with a slightly sweet finish. It was called a lima. When I was eating it I thought it would be great in a vodka martini...

Underraga: if I could roll my R's this would be even more fun to say

Chile's Maipo Valley - so far so good. On my first day of wine touring I visited a classic, Cousiño Macul, one of the oldest wineries in Chile. It was cool to see their old cellars and the equipment they used to use for winemaking. Then I went to the gorgeous property of Underraga, walking through their gardens and vineyards before seeing their winery. Rodrigo told me all about their history and practices. He let me take a whiff of an aging barrel of Carmenere, which could've gotten him fired, he said. The most interesting vinification process that I learned about was their technique for removing the sediment in their red wines. Naturally solids are part of the winemaking process, and it's the winemaker's job to get them out somehow, through natural settling, filtering, etc. At Underraga they bring the temperature of the stainless steel tanks down so that the sediment freezes and remains on a rack inside the tank. The clean wine is then drawn out through hoses and into barrels. This type of tank seems very cool to me.

Here I got my first taste of Carmenere, but it was blended so at this point I cannot make any firm conclusions about this variety. But I did learn about the origin of this grape here. It's a funny story, and my disclaimer is that it may not be 100% accurate but you will get the idea. In the 1900s Chileans brought grape varieties over from France - Cab Sauv, Merlot, Syrah, etc. - to make quality wine. When phylloxera hit Europe, the US, and other places around the world in the mid-1900s, Chile wasn't affected. So they were the only wine market for a bit while the other areas had to rebuild. People were starting to notice Chile. They said, Hey this Merlot from Chile is really different and good. Well, it was Carmenere, mixed with Merlot. The vines had been mixed up and planted together. So they had unknowingly been making Merlot-Carmenere blends. A top ampelographer confirmed this, and they began planting Carmenere and vinifying it on its own. Now Chile is known for the grape variety. After phylloxera hit France they couldn't grow it again, so Carmenere is to Chile what Tannat is to Uruguay - the signature grape.

To me, Carmenere has similar characteristics to Cabernet Franc - red fruit, bell pepper, black pepper spice. It is medium bodied with soft tannins. I still have much to explore in the way of Carmenere, but my initial impressions are good.

The mountains are everywhere, the Andes to the east and the coastal ranges to the west. These mountains help create mesoclimates perfect for growing grapes. There is a lot of sun and the nights are breezy and cool. Can´t complain!

A whale of a day at Alto de la Ballena

I spent the day at this young winery in Punta Ballena, Uruguay, with the owner Paula and winemaker Carla. Alto de la Ballena is beautiful - set in the hills not far from the ocean and overlooking a lake. Paula gave me the history and showed me the Tannat, explaining what a vigorous vine it is; they often have to do leaf- and bunch- thinning a couple times in the spring to maximize the ripening potential of the grapes. They actually focus more on Merlot than Tannat, and their Tannat is blended with Viognier to get a softer wine. Way up in the highest hills of the property they grow Syrah, which Carla explained gets this spot because the elevation and soil allow it the best conditions for ripening.

Alto de la Ballena's tasting area is a covered deck overlooking the vineyards. The 3 of us sampled some wines and cheeses and exchanged our impressions. I particularly liked their Syrah, Tannat-Viognier and Merlot-CabFranc-Tannat.

After the tasting Carla showed me the winery and we did some barrel sampling of the '08 and '09 vintages of Cab Franc, Syrah, and Tannat. It was great to be able to taste the latest vintage and get a sense for how it develops in the barrel.

It was a beautiful day and Paula and Carla were amazing to spend so much time with me. Alto de la Ballena might be the dream vineyard - rocky soil, rolling sierras (hills), proximity to the ocean, and delicious wines. Muchas gracias, Señoras!

I heart the Tannat, a.k.a. wine touring Uruguay-style

Today I had a unique experience causing me to label the day as the best day of wine touring I've ever had. I've only just begun my wine journey down here so I may say that again next week but for now we'll let it stand.

First I visited the gorgeous property of Bodega Bouza in Montevideo, Uruguay. I started by roaming the vineyards before my tour began. Then Maria walked me around the property and told me about the history and viticulture and viniculture practices at Bouza. I think the most interesting thing I learned is that Bouza uses gravity to transfer the wines from fermentation tank to oak barrel instead of an electric pump. The sorting line and fermentation tanks are on the main level of the winery while the smaller oak barrels are on the lower level, and they run the hoses through a hole in the floor. This method prevents the introduction of air in the transfer process. For my Bouza tasting I was given a selection of 4 wines, as follows with my brief impressions:

*Chardonnay 2008: oaky but well-made with nice acidity and apple on the finish.

*Tempranillo-Tannat 2008: slight petrol funk on the nose with some red berry characteristics and smooth tannins.

*Monte vide eu 2007 Tannat-Merlot-Tempranillo: rose petal nose with some bell pepper character, palate of dark fruit, chocolate, tobacco - my second favorite of the tasting.

*Tannat A6 2007 (single plot): very fragrant nose of blackberry with raspberry chocolate on the palate, jammy with weighty but smooth tannins - my favorite of the tasting.

I continued tasting the wines over a most delicious lunch of spinach ravioli in a cheesy cream sauce - very decadent and quite possibly one of the best meals I've ever had, wines included. Interestingly, both the Chardonnay and Tannat went really well with the dish. The Chardonnay was such a good complement, it reminded me that there is a place in this world for oaky Chardonnay - or at least for Bouza's.

Three hours had passed and it was time for my next and last stop, H. Stagnari. Among the stainless steel tanks Ana told me about their history, viti and vini, and showed me the team of girls inspecting every bottle and hand labeling to perfection. Stagnari and all of Uruguay are very proud of their wine history and national grape Tannat, and I can see why. Tannat could age for 10 years, and it can range in complexity, like most reds, depending on the vinification techniques. For our Stagnari tasting Ana selected 4 wines and actually poured herself a glass and tasted each one with me, so we could talk about them:

*Chardonnay 2009: stainless steel and malolactic fermentation gave this wine a lush pineapple character that I really liked.
*Merlot 2009: very pronounced strawberry nose with smooth chocolate covered strawberry on the palate - quite possibly the best Merlot I've ever had (and a ridiculous $6 a bottle!).

*Tannat Viejo 2007: rose petal and blackberry characteristics with firm but juicy tannins - it may be an oxymoron but these tannins were juicy - made me see Tannat a bit differently because of the unique tannin situation. Ana actually had decanted this the day before and said it shows it best that way. For older Tannats she definitely recommends decanting to allow the wine to breathe and open up.

*Blush 2009: base of Muscat de Alexandria with a bit of Tannat mixed in to cut the sweetness, this had a pronounced honeysuckle aroma and was crisp on the palate - and very yummy with a bit of cheese and maraschino cherry.

So, I now understand how it works down here and why people only book 2 winery appointments per day (and you almost certainly need an appointment). Each visit is a personalized experience where you are encouraged to take your time enjoying the wines and the atmosphere - and I definitely did.

Latest Vintage Tannat

Another night in Colonia, another half bottle of Tannat! This one is Don Pascual's 2009. It is cool to be in the southern hemisphere drinking the latest vintage, which they probably harvested this past March-April. This Tannat is very pleasant, with flavors of blackberry, black tea, and a hint of black pepper.

NV Tannat?

I'm currently in the cutest seaside town in Uruguay - Colonia del Sacremento - eating dinner on a sidewalk cafe looking at the ocean with a half bottle of wine. It's Tannat, of course. In terms of body it reminds me of Merlot but has a darker black fruit character more like Cabernet Sauvignon. Tannat may actually be the perfect marriage of those 2 varietals if anyone ever needed one - the structure and complexity of Cab Sauv with the lightness and ease of Merlot (read: not so tannic). Bordeaux could have just made Tannat instead of doing all their mixing of Cab Sauv, Merlot, and the others ;) I'm sure they have their reasons. At this point I don't know enough about how Tannat holds up and how the quality varies to judge France. Which brings me to my next point - this San Juan Tannat does not have a vintage anywhere on the bottle. I don't know what this means. The obvious answer is that it is a blend from different years. I don't know if that is a thing here. I am hoping my upcoming winery visits will shed some more light on this subject.

Tango y Malbec

Upon completion of my beginner tango lesson in Buenos Aires, I sat down to my first glass of South American wine, a Malbec from Mendoza. Young, vibrant, and alive, but with darkness and structure, this 2008 Balbo Malbec is a great wine to follow this classic sensual/macho dance of the city. Salud!