Chilean Wine

Arboleda is a relative newcomer to the Chilean wine market but its founder, Eduardo Chadwick, has been around for a while as the fifth generation of the family behind the Errazuriz label. With the confidence that comes of so much experience and a multi-million dollar bank account he set up Arboleda as more of a niche producer, crafting vineyard specific wines from sustainable vineyards. Syrah probably isn’t the first variety you think of when considering Chilean wine but I think it’s got a great future here, particularly at the mid to higher end of the market. This is gloriously full with ripe, soft tannins but still retains a classic Syrah acidity on the finish to add freshness.

100% País, from dry farmed vines which are estimated to be over 150 years old. Grapes are hand picked and destemmed and put in to open top wooden tanks where slow alcoholic fermentation takes place over 18 days with soft pump overs to avoid extraction. Malolactic fermentation takes place and the wine is aged in concrete eggs and old French oak barrels for 18 months. Red fruit aromas such as cherries and wild herbs, with an earthy hint. The palate shows firm and gentle tannins, structured and balanced, an elegant and complex wine that is reminiscent of Chile´s native forest.

120 year old ungrafted Semillion vines from a single cineyard in the Itata Valley. Fermented in Large French oak barrels followed by 13 months aging in a both new and used oak barrels.

A wide range of aromas, such as honey, peach, green herbs, dried fruit and gunpowder. It is a structured Semilón, medium bodied with mineral and a saline touch on the palate. A balanced and complex wine with a long and elegant finish.

Amongst the first Chilean blends to champion Carmenere. Rich sumptuous intense black cherries, mulberries and more berries! Vanilla, sweet spice with herbal and savoury tones together with a hint of mint. The palate contains the same berry intensity plus a wonderful warm dusty character, reminiscent of its location. It is a well-balanced and complex wine with soft, round tannins and a long finish that shows both character and personality.

Emiliana

This wine displays an intense ruby red colour with violet hues. The nose reveals aromas of red fruit and black fruit with balsamic tones, which complements with notes of vanilla, chocolate, cherry and plums. It has a soft palate, fine-grained tannins, and refreshing acidity.

A fabulously expressive Sauvignon, brimming with ripe aromatics with a fresh, zippy finish. It’s not challenging or mould-breaking, it’s just cracking good wine with an interesting back story behind it’s name. Adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and rich in Polynesian mythology, Motu Nui was the essential location for Easter Island’s legendary bird-man cult Tangata manu. Representatives from each island clan would wait for the visiting sooty terns to lay their first egg on Motu Nui, then swim across the shark-infested bay bearing that egg and climb the mainland cliffs of the Orongo volcano to claim rights of power and privilege for their clan for the following year. Many of the protagonists were devoured by sharks or fell to their deaths in this visceral trial of courage.

A refined Merlot in which black cherry and plum fruit are lifted by savoury spice notes of cedar and white pepper. The palate offers a beautifully balanced combination of freshness and depth

A fabulously expressive Sauvignon, brimming with ripe aromatics with a fresh, zippy finish. It’s not challenging or mould-breaking, it’s just cracking good wine with an interesting back story behind it’s name. Adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and rich in Polynesian mythology, Motu Nui was the essential location for Easter Island’s legendary bird-man cult Tangata manu. Representatives from each island clan would wait for the visiting sooty terns to lay their first egg on Motu Nui, then swim across the shark-infested bay bearing that egg and climb the mainland cliffs of the Orongo volcano to claim rights of power and privilege for their clan for the following year. Many of the protagonists were devoured by sharks or fell to their deaths in this visceral trial of courage.

Medium intensity yellow colour with a coppery rim. It presents a slight cloudiness due to the fact that it is unfiltered in order to give the most natural expression of the blend. Fruity notes reminiscent of quince, pear and apricot as well as an intense presence of mandarin and orange zest nuanced with aromas of beeswax and a pleasant floral bouquet. Complex on the palate, textured and with structure enhanced by the contribution of the skins, which provide chewy tannins, all supported by good acidity and volume on the palate.

Natural fermentation with prolonged skin contact maceration (30% whole cluster and the rest from destemmed grapes). Fermentation takes place in large 600L French oak barrels of over 5 years of age. These are open and positioned vertically for regular treading during fermentation. Once fermentation is complete, the barrels are closed and refilled for storage for 8 months of further maceration. After this period, the wine is separated from its skins and preserved for one month in clay and ceramic amphorae.

An un-oaked Chardonnay from Chile with a creamy and soft palate with a hint of citrus fruit.

Medium-bodied unoaked wine with aromas of ripe berries and a hint of chocolate and soft tannins on the palate.

Lively and refreshing on the palate, with notes of red cherries, strawberry and raspberry, with good acidity and a long finish.

A dry crisp unoaked wine with a fresh bouquet and a refreshing citrus flavour.

Cherries, wild berries and a note of cinnamon smoke all appear on the alluring and inviting nose of this Pinot Noir. The palate is elegant and has just a touch of weight, fine smoky tannins, dark cherries covered in chocolate and vanilla ice cream can all be found in this superbly crafted wine

Parcel of new top Chardonnay from Felipe Müller, sourced from a 0.7 hectare parcel from the Talinay Vineyard. One of Tim Atkins' ‘Chardonnay's of the Year’ in his 2023 Chile report and receipent of 96pts in his 2024 report. Described as ‘Chile meets Puligny-Montrachet style’.

Pale yellow in color, Caliza is a wine with great depth, long, tense, juicy and with nerve. Saline, mineral notes and linear in structure. Undoubtedly a wine with character, in which the extraordinary qualities of the Talinay vineyard are expressed.

Stunning Pinot from the Talinay Vineyard. Winemaker Felipe Müller planted the best, limestone rich slope with a field selection from Vosne Romanee and Gevrey Chambertin. This is the first vintage and has already been hailed as one of the best Pinot's from Chile.

Two massal selections from Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin were planted ungrafted and with a very high density of 12,500 plants per hectare on a steep slope (30%) inside the Talinay estate vineyard. It's a unique 1.15 hectares of vines that were planted in 2012, and the first commercial wine was produced in 2018. This site has some of highest concentration of calcium carbonate (limestone) in the Talinay vineyard. It’s fermented with 40% whole bunch, with native yeasts and then matured in used French oak barrels for 12 months.

The nose is attractive with brooding cherry fruit, floral lift and an underlying stoney minerality. The palate is taught with delicious red berry fruits, layered upon precise minerality and freshness. It’s a very long and clean wine with extremely fine, chalky tannins.

A nose of honey, apricots and marmalade extends to a luscious yet well balanced palate. There is some acidity here which adds freshness and keeps the wine very clean. Warm stone fruits, orange citrus and nectarine linger on the pleasing finish.

Viña Requingua

6 years is, by anyone’s standards, a long apprenticeship but having graduated as an oenologist in 1992, Marco Puyo then worked both within Chile and internationally before bringing all of that experience to bear in setting up his own winery in partnership with cork producer, Patricio Gomez-Barris in 2015; 3 years later he gave up his various other commitments to dedicate himself entirely to Dagaz Wines. This is really classy and a measure as to how far the Chilean industry has come over the past 25 years or so. Oozing elegance and balance it marries red fruit flavours of raspberry and cherry with cedar and spice. Add 10 months of ageing in French oak and you have one of the best value reds I’ve tasted all year

Intense, deep ruby red colour. The nose is complex, with red fruits and notes of spice, as well as a great mineral content coming from the granite that constitutes the soil. In the mouth it is elegant, with good structure, lots of energy and good acidity. This makes it fresh, vibrant and juicy, as well as helping the wine in its potential in the bottle.