Luscious Lushes » Chile

Spotlight on: Chile

winebratsf — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:35:54 +0000

With the economy in the state of panic that is is, and my wine budget being usurped by silly things like groceries, I have been spending a lot of time recently seeing out budget friendly wines that are tasty alternatives to their North American counterparts. Chile is one such place. With a plethora of not so good wines on the market, you have to seek out the good stuff, but there is plenty of good stuff to be had!

Before I became a wine blogger, I used to by Chilean wine at Cost Plus or Costo when I was feeling the penny pinch. One of my favorite brands was Montes, and in particular the Montes Alpha Cabernet. At $15 for a very rich and smooth cab, I thought this was a steal. Now that i am blogging, I am lucky enough to have made friends with Rob Bralow, who works for the Wines of Chile PR folks and has given me different samples to try as well as a ton of information. Armed with this knowledge, I can now go forth and shop for Sauvignon Blancs and Cabernet Sauvignon blends and feel confident that I can find a tasty treat under budget!

First, a little geography lesson.

Chile is a long, narrow country that hugs the west coast of South America. It is widely known for its stunning Andes mountains, but is increasingly known for it’s wines. Wine grapes in Chile are primary grown between the latitudes of 32 and 38 degrees south, which is similar to southern Spain and parts of North Africa. The differnece between these European regions and Chile is the climate. Chile is a more temperate zone, with mild summers and winters. It has a Meddi9terrain climate, and is similar to Calfornia in that way.

Chilean wine has a long winemaking history, which began in the 16th cnetury wwhen the conquistaor brought their European Vitis Vinifera grapes with them. Later on, i nthe 1700s, the fighting varitals of Cabernet Sauvignona nd Merlot were planted. Carménère is relatively new to Chile, but was often mistaken for Merlot in the younger days of their wine industry. In the 1990s it was finally recognized as it’s own varietal, which was broght over from Europe before it was wiped out there frm teh phylloxera epidemic. Carménère is hard to produce in cooler climates becuse it is a late ripening grape, but it was well suited to Chile’s temperate cilmate.

Chile has many different wine regions and they can produce vasty different wines. This is mostly owing to the fact that Chiles geography is NOrth to South, so you have roughtly the distance of Seattle to Los Angeles to deal with. As we all know, Los Angeles ain’t no Seattle! Some regions that you may have heard of are:

Aconcagua, which includes two smaller regions. This is one of the newest regions, and is one of the cooler micro climates in Chile. It has had success growing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and has often been compared to the Carneros region of California, which is one of my personal favorites.

Valle Central, has four separate smaller regions. Some of the most well known are the Maipo Valley and the Rapel Valley. These smaller sub regions are Chile’s most prolific wine regions, and have a large export program, primarily becuase it is very close to the city of Santiago. The Maipo Valley and Rapel regions are known for Cabernet Sauvignon.

Recently, several major wine houses in the US and Europe have planted roots in Chile to globalize their efforts. Some of the efforts are more successful than others, but it’s a good indicator of an up and coming region! I hope you have learned something and are going to go out and buy some Chilean wines. With most price points being under $20, and may hovering around $10, you can afford to experiement! If you’re interested in my Chilean reviews, you can find them here:

Secrets revealed! Lose weight with wine!

It’s a well kept secrret!

The North, vs. The South – a WBW Adventure

Red Hot Chilean Wine!

Is it Chile in here, or is it just me?

It’s a well kept secret!

winebratsf — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 01:52:28 +0000

Recently, the good PR folks from The Wines of Chile (@RobBralow) sent me a surprise box of wine samples. In this box, held a treat for the sense, and an 89 pointer. Ok fine, really it was 88 points by the Spectator but it was voted a Best Buy.

The 2006 Viu Secreto Malbec hails from the Colchagua Valley region of Chile. The Colchagua Valley lies about 80 miles southwest of Santiago, and has a moderate climate. It has often been compared to Napa in many ways, but I bet you won’t find a Napa Malbec at this price point!

This Malbec is priced at a fighting $10-15, and is worth every penny in my opinion. I immediately smell a smokey richness, with fennel and herbs. It is a rich and chewy wine, which one would expect in the over $20 category, but is a treat at this price point. On the palate, there is heavy plum and herb, with an earthy richness. I also taste lavendar and a nice pepper overtone.

Chile has become my go to region for budget minded wines. I have personally tasted several Cabernet blends that are priced around $10 and are a STEAL. Particular varietals that do well in Chile are Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Sauvingnon Blanc. I’m still exploring other varietals, so please stay tuned!

Walk, don’t run to your local shop for this gem!

Cross posted to the 89 Project

Red Hot Chilean Wine!

winebratsf — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 18:28:44 +0000

Last month, Wine Blogging Wednesday focused on value red wines from Chile ofr under $20. You can read all about my picks over here. Given the current economic climate, we are all looking for value wines, and I thought it would be a fun project to explore more affordable libations from the New World.

As a result, I received some samples of Chilean wines, and last night I opened the Maquis Lien red blend. The Maquis retails for about $12-15 and is widely available in several markets, including mine here in the Bay Area.

The Maquis Lien comes from the Colchagua Valley region of Chile, which is about 93 miles south of Santiago, in the Andes growing region about midway down the country. This area is a warm and dry appellation, that produces some lovely wines. Since they are on an opposite growing season, being in the southern hemisphere, we can get an early glimpse of how the year will be.

This blend is a full bodied number, with 38% syrah, 32% carignane, 15% cabernet franc, 8% petite verdot, and 7% malbec. Basically, it’s your classic mutt! I found found the juicy dark fruit to be very seductive, with the spicy dark berries. I tasted bold blackberry, bing cherry, and a hint of smoke emanating from the carminere. The dusting of cocoa powder and spice was a nice finish, and it paired nicely with my turkey burger for dinner.

With the low price point, I would reccomend this as a nice weekday sipper to keep your taste buds singing in these tough economic times. I look forward to trying more wines from the region soon!

Is it Chile in here, or is it just me?

winebratsf — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 03:42:21 +0000

This month, Wine Blogging Wednesday‘s host, Tim of Cheap Wine Ratings challenged us to find a Chilean Red under $20. Not having had many Chilean wines period, I was curious so I headed over to good old Cost Plus (World Market to you crazy people on the East Coast) and picked up two red blends.

The first is the 2005 Nomad Red Wine, from the Central Valley region. This is actually an effort by a California winemaker, known for his efforts at Domaine Carneros. TJ Evans, who partnered with two other meandering winemakers, Jeffrey Jarvis, a small vineyard owner here in California, and Jessica Tomei who is the importer.

The blend of Cabernet Sauvingon, Syrah, Carmenere and a touch of Malbec grapes was produced from grapes from all over Chile, but primarily Maipo Valley. This is a very big wine. It is inky black in the glass, and very earthy. The smokey character of the Malbec & Carmenere really show through. I am tasting a lot of smokey meats, and blue fruit like ripe plums as well as tobacco and a touch of leather sprinkled with black pepper and allspice.

This wine was $13.99 at Cost Plus and for the money, it was a great buy with excellent QPR. If you like a big Bordeaux style blend, I would highly recommend it, especially with a meat dish for dinner.

The second wine that I piced up was another red blend. Hey, I was on a theme! This was also from Cost Plus, and was $11.99. The 2005 Calcu is a blend of 60% Cab Sav, 20% Cab Franc, and 20% Carmenere. According to their label, a Calcu is a magician, and the magic is here in this interesting blend from the Colchagua Valley region of Chile.

This blend also has a very dark purple color, and has a dusty blackberry characteristic that I attribute to the Cab Franc. Smokey meat flavors are held firmly by the tannins. The finish on this wine keeps on going and going and going! There is a lot of anise immediately on the first sip, followed by roasted figs. There is an olive like end note that pops up after you think all of the flavor is gone. There is some oak on the wine but it is not overpowering.

I will keep looking for great buys from Chile and I encourage you to RUN not walk to pick up the Nomad!