Wines of Chile Annual Trade Tasting 2010

On Wednesday, 8th of September, Wines of Chile hosted its annual trade tasting at London's Royal Horticultural Halls. Wines from more than 90 estates were on show. Among the exhibitors were many well-known wineries like Errázuriz, MontGras and Santa Carolina, but also "Newcomers" seeking importers like Bisquertt or Vina Maola.

Over the last few years, Chile succeeded in building a reputation among consumers for supplying wines with one of the best price/quality ratios in the world, particularly in the entry-level segment of fruit-forward, easy-drinking young wines.

In two industry briefings during the event, Michael Cox (UK Director of Wines of Chile) and Gerrard Basset MW gave an update on Chile's wine industry. Nielsen data show a steady growth of share by volume both in UK's off- and on-trade markets, with even higher increasing shares by value in the off-trade. Quality keeps improving considerably, and especially wines from cooler regions like Elqui, Casablanca or Limarí generate premium prices + improve the image of Chilean wines in the off-trade. Wines of Chile would wish the on-trade to get more confidence in the premium potential as well and encourage demanding guests to try their top wines and thus help improving acceptance for premium prices. It is acknowledged that distinctive features like rarity / small scale production are needed in order to achieve this in the on-trade, but this can absolutely be found when sought. Furthermore, hardly any other country is as suited to organic / biodynamic viticulture as Chile, due to its opportune climatic conditions, which is another ideally suited approach to distinction.

As a survey carried out by Wine Intelligence (Vinitrac) suggests, current Chilean wine imagery of regular UK wine drinkers is dominated by "red wine varietals", "full-bodied rich" and "good quality taste", followed by "Andes mountains" and "good value". With increasing potential especially seen in cool climate white wines like Sauvignon Blanc and medium-bodied reds made from Pinot Noir, the current associations provide suitable links to hook onto, but also comprise the danger of diluting the achieved imagery. So any promotional efforts should take this into consideration.

One of the special focus tastings featured a line up of Chile's gold and trophy winning wines in 2010's International Wine Challenge, Decanter World Wine Awards, Sommelier Wine Awards and The Annual Wines of Chile Awards.

A brilliant idea indeed was another showcase table with up to 10 wines from each of Chile's premium wine regions: Elqui, Limarí & Choapa, Aconcagua, Maipo, Casablanca, San Antonio/Leyda, Cachapoal, Colchagua, Curicó, Maule and Bío Bío. True regional characters could be easily compared and contrasted, the only downer was an increasing amount of samples becoming unavailable in the course of the afternoon. Personally, I found the consistency of high quality samples from Maipo and Aconcagua Valleys remarkable at all price points, whilst the samples chosen from Curicó and Maule showed weaker along most of the range.

My favourite discovery is 2006 Gracia de Chile Caminante from Cachapoal, a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Syrah and 7% Cabernet Franc. Full-bodied, complex and with a great balance between ripe, juicy tannins and aromas, it displayed fresh black fruit flavours (blackcurrant, black cherry) along with herbal notes (thyme, mint, eucalypt) and savoury tertiary aromas of mushroom, tobacco and game.

A third focus tasting table featured a selection of juicy Carmenères and Curry sauces, in order to encourage Indian food lovers to find a suitable match amongst Chile's wines. Whilst the approach was definitely worth a try and will surely find followers, personally, I would prefer an aromatic off-dry white or rosé, which can counter-balance the spiciness and does not seem astringent. And Gerrard Basset MW raised concerns in regards to the marketing strategy itself: Even if in the beginning the match of Curry and Carmenère proves successful, the variety then risks to be reduced by consumers to this one match in the long term. Also, the Indian cuisine has always been rich in a diversity of spices and flavours, has recently grown up and now features Michelin star chefs creating dishes of international appeal and innovation, and wines must pay tribute to this diversity.

Very impressive, on the other hand, was Matt Wilson's photographic exhibition on the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Chile in February. A total of 125 million litres of wine were lost, worth 250 million USD, mainly 2009 vintage stored in tanks which got damaged. Many buildings were destroyed, wineries, cellars, homes alike. Prices for bulk wines increased considerably.

But: "No hay mal que por bien no venga" - Something good arises from everything bad. The destruction of buildings released a high degree of solidarity among the Chilean population, as well as unexpected forces driving towards a quick recovery within this year, in which the bicentennial anniversary of Chile's independence is celebrated. Also, rebuilding the affected cellars is often combined with considerable modernization, which will help to further increase quality in the future. And finally, the lost volumes have reduced over-supply, thus stabilizing the market and offering an opportunity for jointly countering in the quality-versus-pricing battle.

Independent for 200 years, Chile's wine industry today presents itself strong, confident and highly ambitious.

More information on Chile's regions, estates and wines can be found under http://www.winesofchile.org/