Chile Regions: Oenological exploration

Each Chilean vintage seems to include the fruit of new plantings from valleys up and down the country. But is the industry ready to deliver a regional message, and is the consumer ready to hear it? asks Peter Richards 

For those who still believe that Chile lacks diversity and the capacity for the expression of terroir in its wines – or the ambition for experimentation and expansion – it is worth taking another look at the category.

Chile is nothing if not fast-moving. It is a country that has undergone a profound transformation since the early 1990s. Following the restitution of democracy in 1989 and the consequent boom in investment and imports/exports, Chile saw its vineyards double in size between 1993 and 2001, from 53,093 hectares to 106,971ha. This upward trend has continued ever since, albeit at a slower rate, with the 2005 figure estimated at 116,000ha.

However, it would be a mistake to interpret these figures as a country simply promoting quantity over quality. Although the bottom end has undoubtedly been bolstered, it is clear that Chile has also been opening up entirely new viticultural terrain and, in doing so, is beginning to discover the true extent of its potential vinous repertoire. New wines from exciting areas seem to emerge with every new vintage, belying the supposition that Chile is somehow one-dimensional or boring in its
wine offering.

At Santa Carolina, straight-talking, ambitious new head winemaker Sven Bruchfeld puts the matter into perspective when I ask him which varieties he would like to plant in Chile at the moment. “Right now, it’s not so much the variety that matters – it’s quality,” he stresses. “And that means planting in the right area, because this is ultimately the most important factor. Areas like Coastal Casablanca for Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling. Colchagua has some nice spots for Syrah, Carmenere and Cabernet Sauvignon, with Marchihue a highlight. Limarí is good for Chardonnay. There’s still much to explore in Maipo and, although I haven’t personally experienced the far south, it’s making some of the best Chardonnay in Chile.”

It is worth noting at this point that, while Chilean wineries are busy exploring their own national territory for winemaking potential, they are also beginning to expand their brand horizons. Santa Carolina, for instance, is one of several wineries to have recently launched a Malbec from Argentina’s Mendoza region as part of a hitherto all-Chilean brand (Antares). “We don’t want to lose our identity, but you can have global brands,” comments Bruchfeld. “Who drew the line in the middle of the Andes, anyway?”

Following Bruchfeld’s logic, in order to understand Chilean wine fully, it is no longer enough simply to have an understanding of its reliable styles of Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot/Carmenere. Instead, it’s about getting to grips with new areas within the established regions (for example, Apalta and Marchihue in Colchagua), as well as the out-and-out new regions, such as Elqui, Limarí, San Antonio, Bío Bío and Malleco – along, of course, with any others that may appear in time.

Northern lights
In the arid north, significant developments have been taking place. One slightly esoteric example is a tentative winemaking project near Antofagasta, in what are effectively the coastal reaches of the Atacama desert. Ventisquero’s winemakers have also been looking at the Huasco Valley (to the north of Elqui), where parent company Agrosuper has large land holdings for pork and olive production. Both may be signs of things to come; for now, it is the likes of Elqui, Limarí and Choapa that are showing the most concrete signs of progress.

Elqui is the most northerly of the three. Several producers are dipping their toes in the water here, and one sizeable investment by a Chilean businessman is being undertaken in the far east of the valley, near Alcoguás, on terraces at altitudes of up to 2,100 metres planted to the likes of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Syrah and Carmenere. To date, the region’s only established winery is the Chilean-Italian project Falernia, which has already demonstrated the clear potential for making elegant, savoury Syrah in the valley. Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are also showing early promise in cooler parts.

Limarí has been the subject of much scrutiny and movement of late, making it very much a region to watch. Its dry and sunny climate has notably moderate conditions in its maritime territory and this, together with its soils which in places have limestone content in depth, has led producers to champion Chardonnay and Syrah.

In 2005, Concha y Toro bought ailing local producer Francisco de Aguirre for US$17 million and then secured further land for planting. Fellow Chilean winemaking giants San Pedro and Santa Rita also recently set up shop in the region – San Pedro via its joint venture Tabalí, not far from which Santa Rita acquired 600ha in late 2005.

Another new name in the north is Choapa, a steep-sided valley located between Aconcagua and Limarí that currently has only 109ha of vines. The ever-experimental De Martino is doing some excellent work sourcing Syrah near the town of Salamanca. “We’re in the hills,” says winemaker Felipe Müller, “but this is the part of Chile where the Andes are closest to the Pacific so we get an ocean breeze that helps lower temperatures and gives a unique characteristic of ripeness as well as freshness to the fruit.”

Perhaps more familiar by now is the coastal region of San Antonio, which lies to the southwest of Casablanca. One of the main challenges for winemaking here is the lack of water, a common problem in Chile’s coastal range, where rivers are far less accessible than in the centre and east of the country. It was only when several partners clubbed together to build an 8km pipeline that things got under way. The first plantings went in in 1998. That decision has been more than vindicated by the runaway success of the wines. 

Since the first wines from pioneering producers like Casa Marín, Garcés Silva, Matetic and Viña Leyda began emerging to a very positive reception, there has been something of a gold rush to San Antonio in the search for expressive whites and elegant, cool-climate reds. Producers such as Anakena, Chocalán, Cono Sur, Luis Felipe Edwards and MontGras have all undertaken ambitious planting programmes, with the likes of Concha y Toro, Santa Rita and Errázuriz enthusiastically buying fruit from the area.

Although the region has excelled initially with Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah, many more varieties are being planted, so it remains to be seen what else will work here, though the precedent is encouraging.

Western heroes
The success of regions like Casablanca, Limarí and San Antonio is indicative of how Chilean winemakers have shifted their focus to the westerly, coastal reaches of their country in the search for diversity in climate, soils, exposures and altitude.

Many of what might be considered Chile’s more traditional regions have had their territory extended in a westerly direction as a result. One example is Aconcagua, where Errázuriz is developing a 1,000ha estate around 13km from Concón on the coast, planting Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Syrah in what are not dissimilar conditions to San Antonio further south. This is a pioneering move both for Errázuriz and Aconcagua, and
one that looks set to change the region’s repertoire profoundly.

Colchagua is another big-name traditional region undergoing something of a makeover. Historically, the region’s vinous heartlands were on the fertile, often humid soils of the flat, hot central valley floor. However, new moves both into hillsides in the mid-valley (Apalta, Ninquén) and also into more westerly reaches (Marchihue, Lolol and beyond) are diversifying the region’s offering quite markedly.

Marchihue, for example, has attracted so much interest and development that authorities have had to issue a moratorium on the granting of new water rights. Montes and VEO were among the first to set up here, amid the poor soils and blustery, warm conditions that look ideal for reds. More have arrived since, such as Canepa, Concha y Toro and Veramonte. Further south, Santa Rita has just purchased a 1,200ha estate in Pumanque, while Lolol is showing signs of promise from producers like Hacienda Araucano, Viña Santa Cruz and Casa Silva. Even further west, developments around Pichilemu, Navidad and San Pedro de Alcantará may yet presage the arrival of fine whites within Colchagua’s range.

Southern stars
Chile’s far south is another area that continues to surprise and impress. The rainier, cooler climate in these parts tends to favour whites and early ripening reds, but the range and early quality of these have proved exciting. Bío Bío has seen some excellent work on the parts of both the Concha y Toro group (Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir) and the Córpora group (Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Malbec). Both of these producers are expanding their holdings, and rightly so.

It is the same story further south in Malleco, where Aquitania’s SoldeSol project has recently diversified by planting Pinot Noir to complement its sole wine, a structured, vibrant Chardonnay. Other developments are also rumoured in the area, and recently there has even been an ambitious start-up considerably further south, around Osorno in the lakes district (around 300km south of SoldeSol).

Given the evidence above, as well as the many other exciting projects currently under way, there is no doubt that Chilean wine is becoming a more multifaceted, complex beast. Though this is unquestionably a positive development for the country, it does pose the thorny question: how well are these developments being communicated to the drinking public and, indeed, are consumers ready for this level of regional complexity from Chile?

The consensus in the trade seems to be that these are early days for Chile and, while regional nuancing can help build quality and add value, there is still little awareness among consumers of Chile’s regions and their differences.

Communication is key
Nonetheless, as with Australia, it does seem that good results can be achieved given time and an ongoing commitment by producers and generic bodies to promote and communicate the regional message. The overall trend in Chilean wine sales is declining at the lower end and rising in the £5-plus category, so the market augurs well. Shrewd commercial enterprises like that of the Colchagua Wine Route also demonstrate that regional marketing can deliver results.

With Wines of Chile continuing to keep the category buoyant, it seems that Chile is well placed to capitalise on what is an exciting and ongoing process of vinous self-discovery
back home.

Chilean wine regions (with most planted varieties in brackets)

Elqui – 451ha (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay)
Limarí – 1,632ha (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenere)
Aconcagua – 1,052ha (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah)
Casablanca – 3,829ha (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir)

San Antonio – 289ha (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc)
Maipo – 10,680ha (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay)
Cachapoal – 9,591ha (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenere)
Colchagua – 22,225ha (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenere)
Curicó – 18,940ha (Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot)
Maule – 29,333ha (Cabernet Sauvignon, País, Merlot)
Itata – 12,036ha (Moscatel de Alejandría, País, Cabernet Sauvignon)
Bío Bío – 1,872ha (País, Pinot Noir, Moscatel de Alejandría)
Malleco – 13ha (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir)

Established producers setting up shop in new areas:

Limarí – Calina, Concha y Toro, De Martino, San Pedro, Santa Rita
Choapa – De Martino
San Antonio – Anakena, Chocalán, Cono Sur, Luis Felipe Edwards, MontGras
Cachapoal (Andes) – San Pedro/Château Dassault
Colchagua (Coastal) – Canepa, Casa Silva, Concha y Toro, Montes, Santa Rita, Ventisquero, Veramonte
Maule (Coastal) – Miguel Torres
Bío Bío – Concha y Toro, Córpora
Malleco – Aquitania

© db September 2006