I’m not often happy with Chilean wines. But this one is different, not just good, but exciting, even though it’s not expensive.
chile
Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
I have not tasted a Los Vascos cabernet for more than 10 years, so when I recently spot a bottle in a local wine shop, nostalgia won and I bought a bottle. Even though I was kind of sure that I wouldn’t be happy with the wine…
Time travelling – Montes Chardonnay Reserva 2020, Chile
Haven’t had a Chilean white for a while and spot this in a local shop recently. If you hope that the style has change in the last decade, well, you will be disappointed.
Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Casillero del Diablo is probably the most well known Chilean brand in the whole world. I can’t remember the first vintage I tasted, but I liked them early on, and then less and less as my palate evolved. I have not tasted any in the last 7 years or so and spotting it on the shelves of Tesco made me nostalgic for the old times.
Not for the faint-hearted: Tesco Finest Valle del Limari Shiraz 2019 (Chile)
I hope I can visit Chile one day, during the harvest period and taste some black grapes. Doing a vintage in a cellar would be even more amazing. That way I could probably understand where that very special character comes, which hallmarks the red wines of the country.
An expensive Carignan from Chile: De Matino Vigno 2015
New wave Chilean red. Definitely not one buried in new oak, but there is nothing unexpected here – it tastes Chilean first and foremost. I always wonder where that strong character comes from, I never find it in anywhere else, and it’s always there in the country’s reds. Winemaking? Terroir speaking loud?
Exciting Chilean red wine: Garage Wine Co. Las Higueras Cabernet Franc Lot #82 2016
The winner of a recent Cabernet Franc blind tasting, on which event I presented mostly Loire wines to my friends. The French performance was a disaster, featuring mostly poorly made wines (Brett, Brett, Brett). The Garage Wine Co. Las Higueras Lot #82 2016 not only won the show, but it’s easily the best and most exciting Chilean red wine I tasted in recent years.