Urrejola: Chile is starting to reap what it’s sowed

Chilean is starting to reap what it’s sowed as winemakers move towards making terroir-driven expressions, according to Rafael Urrejola of Undurraga.

Rafael Urrejola of Undurraga

Speaking to the drinks business during a recent trip to Chile, Urrejola said: “Chile is in that transitional phase of people starting to follow the terroir path. The best wines in the world come from places not varieties.

“Most winemakers in Chile are working towards making wines with a sense of place now but it takes time to really get a sense of origin from them – vine age and really understanding the land helps.

“When I started out most reds were blends from the Central Valley – grapes from Maipo were blended with grapes from Marchigue – they were pretty wines but had no sense of place.

“Wine is a slow game – if you want to see immediate results then go and work in the stock market, but we’re beginning to reap what we’ve sowed and it’s time to show the rest of the world that.

“Everything is in place to really develop these new terroirs we’ve discovered and to use the best suited clones in them.”

Urrejola was one of the first winemakers to really push the boundaries of viticulture in Chile with his Terroir Hunter series, that has proved incredibly popular.

Right now, Urrejola cites Itata as one of the most exciting places in Chile for old wines and innovation, but he is also making a star of Cauquenes.

“Cauquenes is known for its reds wines but we’re making a Viognier from there, which you get lovely texture, ripeness and stone fruit character from,” he told db.

“We’ve also made a 100% Grenache from 80-year-old vines grafted from País, which we have great expectations for. I’ve made it in a gentle style using carbonic maceration. It has a lot of texture and character – the 2016 vintage is looking fantastic.

“It’s very important for Chile to make small production experimental wines from lesser-known varieties to appeal to sommeliers, restaurants and independent merchants,” he added.

As for Pinot Noir, he thinks the best is yet to come. “Our best Pinot Noir vines in Chile are too young at the moment to show what they’re really made of. They were planted in the early 2000s and will be really interesting when they come of age,” he said.

“The best are planted with the right clones by the coast in Limarí and Casablanca,” he added.

An in-depth look into the latest trends and developments in the Chilean wine industry will appear in the September issue of the drinks business.