Chilean Wines

Chilean wines seem to be all the rage right now. Since the 1980s, there’s an ever-growing stampede on the part of importers to offer them. The reason? They often don’t cost very much, their overall quality has been improving and there are now some producers who are attempting to make serious quality wines that can compete internationally. This, combined with the fact that phylloxera, a root disease that is rampant in Europe, has never reached Chile (and the ousting of Augusto Pinochet) make for a good combination for wine makers there.

Chile has long been producing wine,but only recently have they appeared on the radar of the general American wine consumer. The Spanish were among the first to settle in South America and begin growing vines. Santa Rita, Torres, Montes…all are present in Chile. Locals include Errazuriz, Concha y Toro and Cousino-Macul, while foreign companies operating in Chile including Kendall-Jackson, Franciscan Estates, Mondavi, Chateau Mouton-Rothschild and Chateau Lafite Rothschild.

Photograph courtesy of Miguel Torres S.A.

Miguel Torres traveled to Chile in the 1970s to visit a wine school friend, Alejandro Parot. He was impressed and purchased the Ahrex family estate for the Torres company and began growing grapes. Along the way, he introduced stainless steel fermentation tanks and temperature-regulating equipment, as well as American oak barrels. The Brut Reserva de la Familia is made with Pinot Noir, and has a brilliant and sustained pale gold color. The seductive, fresh, floral aromas bring out the best in appetizers and seafood. For rich aromas, try the Maqueha, a Chardonnay with a generous dose of apple and hazelnut scents and notes of toasted bread and vanilla. It is extremely tasty with caviar, trout, smoked salmon and shellfish. The Santa Digna vineyards now create some fine Sauvignon Blanc wines with citrus/grapefruit notes.

Santa Rita (whose winemakers include Cecilia Torres) commemorates a part of Chilean history with its "120" line, named after the 120 soldier who fought with General Bernardo O'Higgins against the Spanish. The Cabernet Sauvignon, a lively and youthful wine, is red in color, with violet hues and brilliant transparency. Its aroma evokes ripe red fruits and berries and leaves a light, pleasant balance on the palate, which lingers. Best with appetizers, fresh salads, white meats and desserts. The Reserva Sauvignon Blanc is a pale, straw-green wine with intense varietal aromas dominated by grapefruit, citrus, apricots and black currant. It has a long, lingering aftertaste with good acidity and is good as an apertif or with shellfish. Santa Rita is one of the better-selling Chilean wines at Sun Devil. Also try the Casa Real.

Photograph courtesy of Santa Rita Estates.

Montes Alpha M is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdo in an intense, multihued ruby red, with an aroma redolent of berries. The red fruit, with notes of black pepper and spices, blends harmoniously on the palate and goes best with lamb dishes, turkey, venison, rabbit or goose. The company's regular line of Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot and Syrah are also available, all with outstanding scents of fruit.

Most of these wines are under $20 a bottle, with quite a few of them under $10. But the country's wines are continually improving. Red wines still dominate, but whites are coming along nicely, and varietals, like the Petite Sirah and Malbec are now being produced. Most of the wines from Chile are quite young, but there are a few, more ageworthy wines being produced, some of which are seeking to become superstars by breaking the $50 per bottle limit.

(This wine column I ghostwrote for Lori Eccles, owner of Sun Devil Liquors in Mesa, Ariz. Originally appeared in Northeast Mesa Lifestyle, Vol. 1:1, Mar. 2005.)