Casillero del Diablo adds ‘red label’ to range

Chile’s Casillero del Diablo is to add a new mid-range tier to its line-up in a bid to promote the country’s key wine regions and boost the brand’s margins.

Casillero del Diable Reserva Especial Cabernet Sauvignon will hit UK retail shelves next month with a retail price around £8

Dubbed ‘red-label’, the new product fits between the brand’s entry-level ‘white label’ and more premium ‘black-label’, and comprises a Sauvignon Blanc from Casablanca and a Cabernet Sauvignon from Cauquenes.

Although the three tiers are referred to according to the dominant colour of their labels, the official names for the levels are, from lowest to highest price: ‘Reserva’ for white label, ‘Reserva Especial’ for the new red label, and ‘Reserva Privada’ for the black label, although there also is a range-topping wine called ‘Leyenda’.

Significantly, the red label Reserva Especial has been introduced to help increase the value of the Chilean wine brand and plug a price gap between the entry-point white label and the more upmarket black label.

And to do this, the range extension is focused on certain appellations in Chile, which are clearly indicated on the front of the bottle.

Speaking to the drinks business in Chile last month, Marcelo Papa, who is technical director for Casillero’s brand owner, Concha y Toro, stressed the importance of promoting the country’s regions for preventing the commoditisation of its wines.

“If Chile doesn’t work on the appellations then in the future we are in trouble,” he stated, as previously reported by db.

The Reserva Especial has been conceived to push Chile’s regional diversity at the relatively affordable £8-10 price brand, making it marginally cheaper than the Reserva Privada (£10-12), and pricier than the white label Reserva (£6.50-8).

Although those in the trade might not be surprised to see that the white wine variant of the new Red Label hails from Casablanca – one of Chile’s best-known cooler, coastal appellations – the decision to use Cabernet Sauvignon from Cauquenes, within the country’s more southerly Maule region, is more surprising.

Far less famous than Maipo, which is the largest source of Chile’s red wines, and the home of the country’s greatest Cabernets, Cauquenes is a niche area in terms of recognition and volume.

Nevertheless, both appellations are united by their soils: Casablanca and Cauquenes feature red clay on top of granitic bedrock, and it is this red clay layer that has given inspiration to the colour of the new mid-range tier, according to Sebastián Aguirre Ahrens, who is global marketing director for the brand.

He also told db at ProWein last week that this particular soil type gives the wines “more structure, more body, and still a lot of freshness.”

Papa, in particular, is keen to push Cauquenes, which is a part of Chile that he believes is underrated.

Explaining that the Cabernet Sauvignon from this region has, for a long time, been used as a blending component in reds using Maipo-sourced fruit, he said that it was now time for Cauquenes to be given greater recognition.

“For a long time Chile’s classic Cabernet has been from Maipo’s alluvial soils, which give a wine with roundness, and lots of cassis,” he began.

“In contrast, Cauquenes gives a Cabernet with a lot of power, tension and acidity, and it is often used in blends, but no-one knows it,” he told db, pointing out that currently Casillero’s white label Cabernet contains between 5 and 10% fruit from Cauquenes.

Continuing, he said, “The appellation disappears, so we wanted to recognise the Cabernet from this appellation in terms of style, and put Cauquenes on the front label; I believe a lot in Cauquenes for Cabernet Sauvignon, and we are doing a lot of research into the best clones for quality in the region… we want to show that it is a very good area that nobody knows.”

In terms of terroir, Papa described the climate of Cauquenes as “fantastic”, comparing the conditions to California’s Napa Valley, noting that both appellations were classified as 2 on the Winkler Index.

He also said that Cauquenes has a good level of rainfall, with around 700mm annually. Noting that this was adequate, but not excessive, he added that it was enough to allow for dry-farmed bush-trained vineyards, although more productive trellis-trained fruit, particularly from younger vines, require irrigation.

Speaking more generally a strategy for Casillero del Diablo and the broader Concha y Toro stable of brands, he commented, “We have been starting to think hard about how we can drive value into the category… we’re trying to put a lot of focus on creating new products which help the consumer to trade up with confidence.”

With just a £1 price premium on the entry-level white label Casillero del Diablo, it is certainly hoped that the new origin-specific Reserva Especial variant from this brand will do that.

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CHILE MUST PUSH ITS APPELLATIONS, SAYS MARCELO PAPA

So why the new label?

The new Reserva Especial white wine is a Sauvignon Blanc from Casablanca

According to Sebastián Aguirre Ahrens, who is global marketing director for Casillero del Diablo, the red-label range extension has been designed to promote a “more origin-driven line” for the brand that “fills a gap” between the entry-level white label, priced around £6.50, and the more expensive black label at around £10.

He also hopes to bring new consumers to the brand, as well as encourage existing Casillero drinkers to try the different expressions within the range.

“We are trying to give more options to loyal Casillero consumers; the Reserva can be a daily wine but if you want a gift, then you need more options, and something more specific, more premium, more unique, and that is why we are adding the Reserva Especial,” he told db.

Continuing he said, “It’s also a good option for us to bring more consumers to the brand who are not touched by regular Reserva line.”

More generally, he said that the new wine was part of an aim to take Chile’s wines and image up market.

“Our general aim is to increase the value for Chilean wines, so, for us it is important to launch wines that are more valuable for consumers,” he said.

However, he said that the jump to the black label tier was too great.

“We felt that the step from Reserva to Reserva Privada was too big, we felt we were missing something in the middle,” he admitted.

Looking to the longer term, he told db that the plan for Casillero del Diablo was to become the world’s “most valuable” brand by developing a clear three-tier approach, and encouraging consumers to “upgrade to new lines”.

Although the Reserva Especial is entirely new to the range, Casillero do already have a wine at the same price point, with the more niche ‘Devil’s Collection’ range, which was initially launched five years ago to tap into a rising demand for wine during Halloween.

Casillero del Diablo is one of the world’s largest wine brands, and sold 5.5 million cases of wine in 2017, all of which hailed from Chile.

UK Nielsen statistics for the retail sector show that the brand is growing by value at a rate of 10% (MAT 24.02.18) and, with an average bottle price in the UK off-trade of £6.63, currently has a higher average price than any other major global wine brand selling in the British supermarket sector.