Why Drink Wine from Chile?
Whether you’re a novice wine drinker or a wine connoisseur, Chilean wines have a lot to offer.
QPR (Quality Price Ratio): You’d be hard pressed to find more consistent quality at an affordable price than Chilean wines. Unlike many wines from other parts of the world, the climate (plenty of sun, cool nights and not much rain) and use of irrigation to control yields means there is less variance in quality from vintage to vintage. There’s also less variance in quality between producers because a majority of Chilean wines are owned by big families capable of financing the best equipment and team, and they’ve been doing it for generations. A producer like Concha y Toro has been producing wine since the 19th century and has dozens of other labels sourcing wine from the whole country. Chile has also attracted many of the best winemakers and investors from Europe and California. For example, Almaviva is a partnership between Concha y Toro and Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux. Sena, perhaps Chile’s most famous and expensive wine, was a collaboration of Vina Errazuriz and Robert Mondavi. Nowadays, smaller labels such as Clos des Fous and Aquitania, combine French and Chilean savoir-faire. Another is Vik, established by a Norwegian in 2004.
As far as prices, bargains can easily be found across the spectrum. If you were to randomly pick any wine under 15 dollars from Chile, more people would be satisfied with their purchase than randomly grabbing a French or California wine at the same price range. Stylistically, Chilean wines don’t go towards extremes in general, so it pleases classic and New World wine lovers. They don’t allow chaptalization (adding sugar) to wines, so wines are less likely to taste synthetically sweet like other wines at this price range in other countries. Wines at the lower price range don’t require aging to drink, are rarely over-oaked, overly-tannic or over-ripe, but don’t lack fruit either. More specifically, I don’t think you can find Pinot Noir anywhere else in the world at a better price. California, Oregon, and Burgundian Pinot will often cost upwards of $30-50 for half decent Pinot. Even good New Zealand Pinot costs around $20+. Chilean Pinot, especially from the Casablanca and Leyda regions can range from $5-20 for the same quality. At the mid-range and higher-end, you can also find relative bargains. Wines like Sena, Almaviva, Don Melchior, and Clos Apalta have all received 97-100 points from critics, but sell for only $90-150 in the US. Most Napa and many Bordeaux equivalents would still cost way more.
If I have one criticism of Chilean wines, it’s that it’s almost too consistent and its style sometimes hangs in limbo between modern and classic, which can sometimes feel uninspired. It can do everything OK but nothing great. Sometimes you prefer a truly modern hedonistic wine or a very classic terroir-driven wine. Sometimes you want wines with “faults” and more variable personality according to the vintage. However, this issue is mostly the case for cheaper big production mainstream Chilean wines. Given the price, I’m not going to complain too much for their consistency. Moreover, if you explore Chilean wines more deeply, you will find a lot of diversity and inspiration with lesser known producers.
Diversity: First of all, it’s always good as a wine geek or wine debutant to expand your palate and try new things. Chilean wine is different yet not so different from the stuff you might be drinking nowadays to transition to it. Moreover, Chilean wine itself is diverse. Wines are being produced as far south as Patagonia and as far north as the Atacama Desert. Therefore, you have all types of grape varieties, soils, climates, and elevation. As mentioned earlier, there is also a range of cheap to luxury wines. Hence, Chilean wine is far more than just a cheap Cabernet or Chardonnay you find at the bottom shelf to bring to a party. You can find ringers for high-end Napa and Bordeaux or cheap everyday sippers. You can find the perfect wine to pair with your dish with all the varieties, styles and terroirs they have. There are also sparkling, rosé, dessert wines and pisco. At the same time, unlike all the daunting plethora of classifications and single vineyard designations of wines in Europe, such as Burgundy, Chilean wine labels are pretty easy to understand. It’s mainly just the vintage, variety and region.
History: When you think of wine tradition, you think of the Old World French and Italian wines. However, Chilean wine making dates back from the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. There are still vines, mostly of the Pais grape, that date back to Spanish colonial times, so if you open a bottle of Chilean Pais, you might be drinking 250+ year old vines of Chilean history. In the mid 19th century, French varieties were introduced, but unlike other parts of the world, Chile did not suffer from the phylloxera which wiped out other wines. Therefore, Chile’s wines may represent Old Word vines more than the Old World itself. Carmenere, the national grape of Chile, originated in Bordeaux and was one of the main grapes in the 19th century. Yet, there are very few producers that use Carmenere in Bordeaux today while it’s had a renaissance in Chile as a single-variety wine.
Change & Growth: Besides its history, diversity and great prices, the Chilean wine industry is still changing and growing. As mentioned before, producers are exploring different regions further north and south of the country. They’re exploring different varieties too. For example, Maule is one of the few places in the world to find single variety Carignan and Itata is making single variety Cinsault. Some wineries are producing single varieties of more obscure grapes like Marselan, Grosse Merille, Sauvignon Gris and Verdejo. There are also interesting blends being made such as Syrah and Pinot Noir or Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot. Some of these movements are completely innovative or following international wine trends while some are an attempt recapture traditional techniques such as the revival of Pais. Stylistically, if you think you already know Chilean wine and last had it 15 years ago, the wines have become more classic, elegant, and fresher as a whole.
Lastly, despite Chilean wine being dominated by large bodegas, there are a lot of smaller up and coming independent producers. Many are part of MOVI (The Independent Winemakers Movement) established in 2009. Many (both big and small producers) are using more organic, natural, biodynamic, and/or sustainable methods. The weather and historic/natural isolation in Chile also makes it easier to manage vines from pests or mold without too many chemicals. They also are making more terroir-driven wines. The only non-French terroir expert in the world, Pedro Parra, is Chilean and consults for many wineries about how to make sure they maximize their land by analyzing the soil and finding the best variety match. In the end, there is a wealth of resources and types of terroir for new and old winemakers to make high quality and diverse wines in Chile long into the future as tastes, markets and climate change.
Conclusion: Bottom line, if you’re new to wine and have a small budget, there’s no better place to start than Chilean wine because it’s so cheap and diverse that you can afford to experiment with different varieties, climates/terroir, wine-making styles, vintages and age of wine. If you tried to do it with California wine, you’d be spending anywhere from twice to ten times as much for the same quality. If you tried to do this with Argentinian wine, you’d be left with mostly Malbec, Cabernet, and Torrontes to drink and not much else. If you tried to start with French and Italian wine, you’d also have higher prices and much more complicated labels and classifications of wines to learn. Stylistically, these wines might also be too earthy, acidic, rustic or subtle for a beginner too. Of course, I don’t suggest beginners only drink Chilean wine, but buying a mixed case of Chilean wines is not a bad place to start.
On the other hand, if you’re a connoisseur of French, Italian or California wines, there are also mid-week Chilean quaffers that can simulate Old World or New World wines while you wait for your more expensive wines to age. Yet, you can also find collectible high end wines too that will impress any wine snob. Chilean wine is for everybody.
*Don’t forget that Chile is a lovely country to visit for wine, culture and outdoor adventures too.