South America's Finest Whites Cresting a New Wave
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SAVOR: SOUTH AMERICA’S FINEST WHITES FINEST AMERICA’S SOUTH SAVOR: SOUTH AMERICA’S FINEST WHITES CRESTING A NEW WAVE David Williams is joined by Jamie Goode and Peter Richards MW for a diverse and impressive tasting of white wines from Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Uruguay, which showed how far South America’s white winemaking has progressed over the past decade, a period when the continent’s leading producers have been exploring new terroirs and new winemaking styles outh America’s reputation as a fruit. But even a more than usually them as a single winemaking “region.” Acid houses THERE ARE GENUINELY Protean, adaptable, malleable fine-wine producer largely rests engaged enthusiast—one alert to Our defense is the same as it was for Not the least of the three tasters’ Chardonnay acted to some extent as a Son its red wines. Even skeptics current fashions and fired by curiosity the intra-continental tasting of South preliminary findings was a happy one: DELICIOUS, EXCITING, control in our tentative Chilean terroir about the current level of vinous to try as many different styles as American red wines featured a year that there are some genuinely delicious, SKILLFULLY MADE, experiment: linear, pure, desert-night development in the continent—and possible—might struggle to come up ago in WFW 62: briefly, we feel the exciting, skillfully made, and distinctive AND DISTINCTIVE sky-clear in Atacama; elegant, poised, whose experience of, for the most part, with a pen portrait of a paradigmatic cultural and historical affinities are white wines being made in each of mineral in Aconcagua Costa; toasty Argentine and Chilean wines is still South American white style. What, sufficient enough to provide at least South America’s main producing WHITE WINES BEING richness with citrus nerviness in largely of the “great value budget bottle” apart from competitive pricing, would some justification for rolling Chile, countries, many of which satisfy one MADE IN EACH OF Casablanca. There were rather fewer kind—tend to view Malbec, Cabernet, be the content of sound bites summing Argentina, Uruguay, and (albeit with of the metrics still commonly used SOUTH AMERICA’S variables in our Chardonnay samples Merlot, Carmenère, and, at a push up Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, Argentine just a couple of bottles) Brazil together for defining fine wine—they have the from Argentina, but the quality of Tannat, Pinot Noir, and Syrah, as Chardonnay or Uruguayan Albariño? (see WFW 62, pp.210–11 for a longer structure to age. MAIN PRODUCING the single-vineyard, high-altitude the source of potential in the region. Perhaps only Argentine Torrontés, rehearsal of our arguments). Indeed, no matter the style, COUNTRIES Mendozan iterations from Terrazas de There’s a certain expectation, too, with its uninhibited, instantly Equally, like that red tasting, grape variety, region, or winemaking Los Andes and Catena, and the balance about how at least some of those recognizable talcum-powder such a whistle-stop tour of the South philosophy, abundant natural acidity (and lack of excess) on show in the varieties should taste, a caricatured tendencies, has managed to establish American white-wine scene was never was a consistent feature in the highest I’m not sure I’m ready to say, majority of examples from both sides idea of minty blackcurrant pastille itself as a fixed, reasonably well- going to provide enough information scoring wines. That’s a clear reflection on the strength of this tasting alone, of the Andes (if not, in my view, in Chilean Cabs and plummy-chocolatey disseminated reference point. But to draw any serious conclusions about of a general, 21st-century trend which “new” or revamped region has the one example from Brazil) is as Argentine Malbecs that has at least as given how divisive that character is, terroir. Our mission was not to define throughout the continent to seek out the most potential in Chile. But what good a measure as any of how white much purchase in the minds of the you wonder how much good its regional or national differences, nor to more suitable sites for white-variety a pleasure it was to be able to compare winemaking has improved in both average wine consumer as the supposed relative pre-eminence has done for develop pithy one-liner generic guides cultivation, a trend most spectacularly wines from such latitudinal extremes countries. As Peter Richards MW says coconut and vanilla of Rioja or the heft the reputation of Argentine wine in to South American varietal wines. evident in Chile (the leading country as green and temperate Malleco in the of Chilean Chardonnay (but the same and spice of Aussie Shiraz. particular, and South American wine What we were looking for was a sense in this tasting in terms of both the south and the desert of Atacama in the applies to Argentine versions), a variety South American whites, by contrast, more generally. of possibility, a chance to see what a number of wines submitted and the north; or to cruise the east-west axis, that was “so often a nadir in times gone occupy very little space in the popular Before I go on I should point out selection of some of the region’s most scores attained), where the north- from Andean-foothill Cachapoal and by” is now delivering “freshness, imagination. Asked to provide a generic that I do realize we’re at risk here of reputed producers were getting up to south-east-west vine-rush of the Colchagua, to Pacific-coastal San diversity, and excitement.” description of Marlborough Sauvignon being accused of taking a reductive, with white wines: an exploratory piece past 20 years has greatly improved Antonio, Leyda, Casablanca, and, in the One could say something similar Blanc, almost any wine drinker can call homogenizing view of South America’s of research to point the way to future, both the quality and the variety of shape of the schist soils of Errázuriz’s about Sauvignon Blanc, which until on the gooseberries and the passion individual wine cultures by addressing more focused lines of enquiry. the white wines. Las Pizarras project, Aconcagua Costa. the 2010s encapsulated Chile’s timidly 200 | THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 65 | 2019 THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 65 | 2019 | 201 tasting / savor / South America’s Finest Whites Jamie Goode JG | Peter Richards PR | David Williams DW Bodegas RE Velado [Pinot Noir] Ventisquero Tara Atacama WHITES FINEST AMERICA’S SOUTH SAVOR: mercantile approach to wine production, AVERAGE AND RANGE OF SCORES 94 I LOVE THIS WINE. with wines that ran the gamut from not THAT A FLOR-AGED Casablanca Chile (12.5% ABV) Chardonnay DO Atacama Valley 92 Average Range Chile 2016 (13% ABV) bad to quite good. Here we had evidence IT DARES TO BE WINE WOULD EVEN JG | Full colored. Intriguing appley, oxidative of a thrilling new style crystallizing, FEATURE IN A TASTING Tasting 90 83–97 nose with almond and cherry hints. The palate is DIFFERENT—NOT JG | This is pure, crisp, and lemony, with some one of pristine citrus, driving fresh intense with keen acidity and some nutty hints, COMMON IN THE refined white-peach richness. There are some acidity and minerals, characteristics OF SOUTH AMERICAN JG 89 84–95 as well as apple and herb notes. Pungent, tangy, pithy hints here, and an appealing stoniness, too. I found in both Laberinto Sauvignon and saline, this has some flor-like character. Bold SOUTH AMERICAN Shows a taut, linear style, with good acid and WHITE WINES, LET PR 90 83–97 Blanc Cenizas de Laberinto grown on and intense, but with a lot to like, although it is a CONTEXT OF OLD, purity, and potential for development. | 93 ALONE COME OUT ON distinctive, singular style. | 92 PR | Pale, fairly pure but also engaging. Hard to volcanic soils in the Maule Valley and DW 90 85–94 PR | Wow! Oxidative, aldehydic (but not THOUGH MORE SO single out individual aromas here, seems appley in Pacific-cooled Casa Marin Cipreses TOP, WOULD HAVE unpleasantly so—more in the realms of Fino NOW, WHICH IS GREAT fresh but warm earth also emerges. That said, Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc from BEEN UNTHINKABLE Sherry or Vin Jaune), bruised red-apple aromas. it’s still inviting. Lovely palate structure and Lo Abarca in the San Antonio Valley. EVEN FIVE YEARS AGO DAVID WILLIAMS’S TOP WINES Takes no prisoners. Full-on style. But my, how TO SEE. IT’S UNIQUE. presence. It’s not at all shouty but it grabs the that palate comes together—juicy, structured, attention, lovely pure acidity, moreish and foodie. If the dramatic improvement of Bodegas RE Velado [Pinot Noir] Casablanca IT MAY SCARE SOME seamless, hugely complex, and utterly compelling. Flavors are neither sweet nor savory, somewhere South American Chardonnay and Chile 2012 94 I love this wine. It dares to be different—not PEOPLE. BUT I ADORE in between. It’s vivid but also reticent, makes Sauvignon Blanc owes much to their Given the consistent quality—an Errázuriz Las Pizarras Chardonnay Aconcagua Costa common in the South American context of old, you think.