VIK strikes gold in travel retail

Chilean producer Viña VIK scooped a gold medal for its La Piu Belle Red in the Global Travel Retail Masters 2023.

Given the international success that Viña VIK is enjoying, it should come as little surprise that one of its wines has been recognised as being gold medal-worthy in the Global Travel Retail Masters 2023.

It’s been quite a year for the producer, which is based in Millahue, Chile.

In March, VIK made its debut on La Place de Bordeaux with the 2019 vintage of its flagship wine VIK. The wine has been offered through négociants including CVBG, Crus & Domaines de France, The Wine Merchant, Veyret Latour, and BVS, with Grands Vins du Monde, the beyond Bordeaux division of Bureau Leveque representing VIK as courtier.

One of the main aims behind joining La Place was to position the company as belonging “in the pantheon of the world’s great wines” and to gain a wider distribution for the premium Chilean winery, focusing on Asia and Europe, said CEO Gastón Williams at the time.

Following its entry to La Place, VIK swiftly became the first Latin American winery to launch a wine NFT in August, offering a limited release of 50 double-magnums of its VIK 2018 as NFTs.

The double magnums will be stored in the cellar of the vineyard under the watchful eye of VIK’s chief winemaker, Cristian Vallejo until each buyer decides to collect them – any time from the moment of purchase. Or, the non-fungible tokens can be traded as a digital asset.

The VIK 2018 Limited Edition will not be available for purchase from any retail store. The cost for each NFT was 750 MATIC (around £366 at today’s exchange rate).

Now, the Chilean producer has been recognised for having one of the best wines available in the travel retail market, bagging a gold medal for its La Piu Belle Red 2020 in this year’s Global Travel Retail Masters competition.

The wines entered in the competition are judged blind, free from regional bias, meaning the results are a true and authentic representation of the judges’ palates.

Below, Patricia Stefanowicz MW gives her tasting note for VIK’s gold medal-winning La Piu Belle Red 2020.

VIK La Piu Belle Red 2020

-Producer: VIK
-Regions: Millahue, Cachapoal Valley
-Country: Chile
-Grape varieties : 68% Carmenère, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc
-Abv: 14.5%
-Vintage: 2020
-Approx. retail price: £50
-Medal: Gold – Travel Retail Masters 2023

This La Piu Belle is the red version of VIK’s goddess and a brilliant expression of the ‘Lugar del Oro’ or ‘Golden Place’ of Millahue, Chile, where VIK is based. Made under the direction of head winemaker Christian Vallejo, the wine is deep ruby-purple in hue and shows ripe red and blackcurrants and brambles, tobacco overtones and hints of sweet red pepper and mint. This dry, full-bodied wine has lively acidity, grippy corduroy-textured tannins and is packed with blackberry fruit and cedarwood and leather leading to a long finish. Definitely a wine with a future, it could work now with robust red meat, perhaps with spicy chimichurri sauce.