Chadwick: I did the Berlin tasting out of desperation

Eduardo Chadwick, president of Errazuriz, has admitted that he put on his famous Berlin tasting out of “desperation” as none of the world’s top wine critics were taking Chilean wines seriously.

Eduardo Chadwick of Errazuriz put on his famous Berlin tasting in 2004 out of desperation

Speaking to the drinks business during a recent trip to Chile, Chadwick said: “Robert Parker had no interest in visiting Chile in the ‘90s, which was insulting, so I put on the Berlin tasting in 2004 out of desperation.

“I wasn’t trying to outsmart anyone, but I wanted to see how our wines would score alongside the likes of Lafite, Latour, Margaux, Sassicaia and Ornellaia.

Seña 2015 was given 100 points by James Suckling

“I wanted to put our wines alongside the best in the world and give them a chance without any bias. I had humble expectations and was hoping for one of them to get into the top five.

Chadwick’s humble expectations were surpassed – Viñedo Chadwick 2000 came first in the tasting, hosted by Steven Spurrier, and Seña 2001 came second.

“The tasting helped us gain the respect, attention and curiosity of the critics,” said Chadwick, who went on to repeat it with similar success in Japan and Brazil.

With little interest from the US in the ‘90s, Chadwick turned his sites to Asia instead, where he concentrated on building the Errazuriz brand in a country with no prejudices towards Chilean wine.

The international critic to have paid the most attention to Chilean fine wines in recent years is James Suckling, and Chadwick believes his 100-point score of Seña 2015 was a “game changer” like the Berlin tasting.

“Suckling is changing the way the world looks at Chilean wine,” Chadwick said. “We’ve convinced the critics about the quality of Chilean wine now, the next step is to convince the trade and then the world’s top wine collectors,” he added.

In a bid to do this, Chadwick is inviting buyers from Berry Bros & Rudd, BI Wines and Spirits, Corney & Barrow and Fine and Rare wines to Chile this autumn.

“It’s very important for Chile’s longterm future that we have these wines that play at the top end so we can build our image around them. I’m convinced we are a fine wine player, it’s just taken years to convince everyone else,” he told db.