CHIILE Chile: back to the future The 2010 earthquake off the coast of Maule has led to seismic shifts in the attitudes and actions of winemakers throughout Chile. Peter Richards MW looks at how history has played a part in reshaping the country’s wine future IT WAS THE middle of the night when the ‘Chilean wine ‘We’re rescuing our history, our heritage,’ earthquake struck – at 3:34am on 27 February relates Fernando Almeda, head winemaker at 2010. At magnitude 8.8, this was one of the has been Miguel Torres Chile. ‘Chilean wine has been most powerful ever recorded, unleashing a developing so rapidly that we’ve lost sight of tsunami and costing the lives of more than developing so where we’ve come from.’ Ventisquero’s Felipe 500 people. The earthquake’s epicentre was Tosso calls it ‘Chile’s maturing point’. just off the coast of the Maule region, one of rapidly that Chile’s key wine centres, but its impact was In the field global: not just on Californian ports and we’ve lost Chile has more winemaking history than is Japanese fisheries but also on international often acknowledged. The first vines are insurance firms and, via instant media sight of believed to have been planted in the mid-16th coverage, to a worldwide news audience. century – well before the marshlands of the Living on a tectonic fault line fosters where we’ve Médoc were drained, for example – as resilience. Despite major setbacks, the Chilean Europeans arrived in Latin America. Quality nation largely dusted itself off and carried on, come from’ was not a priority: the País grape, then widely just as businesslike (and fatalistic) as before. planted, is thought to be descended from the Fernando Almeda But some things were never quite the same, so largely undistinguished Listán Prieto of Spain the quake became a fitting metaphor for such and the Canary Islands. But the colonists did contemporaneous changes. establish their vineyards in vine-friendly Although the 2010 wine harvest was country that would have been familiar from carried out in difficult circumstances and home: rolling hillsides in temperate conditions made excellent wines, seismic shifts of a more close to the moderating influence of the sea. subtle nature were taking place in Chilean The original heartland of Chilean wine is wine, whose real effects would take a few thought to be the coastal hills around the years to manifest. ports of Penco and Concepción, in what is now Above, clockwise from top: De It was as if the industry had gone back to Itata. Visiting the area, the history is palpable. Martino’s Itata vineyard; Carignans the drawing board. It was a time when key ‘In Itata, you breathe tradition,’ comments from members of the Vigno group; winemakers began to re-evaluate the nature of Almeda. The gnarly old vines tended by Marcelo Papa of Concha y Toro; their wines – stereotypically big reds and similarly weathered smallholders sprawl Peter Richards MW (second from punchy whites – and seek inspiration not in across a scented, undulating landscape. right) with some Itata winemakers; international competition or markets but in This area of Chile has long either churned the 2010 earthquake devastated Photographs:AlvaroArriagada /Wines Chileof their own history, geography and people. out homespun hooch or was quietly used by ➢ many Maule wineries; clay tinajas 4 2 | J u l y 2 0 1 5 • DECANTER ‘Tinajas helped show there was another Chile – of small vignerons with real history and identity; a story to tell’ Marcelo Retamal Photographs:AlvaroArriagada /Wines Chileof savvy winemakers as a source of decent but Above: Marcelo and even Chile’s biggest producer, Concha y cheap fruit. No one talked about Itata. In 2010, Retamal of De Martino Toro, recently joined the party, releasing a influential winemaker Marcelo Retamal, says old bush vines and dangerously drinkable País-Cinsault blend backed by the progressive De Martino family, minimal intervention under its Marqués de Casa Concha label, started moving away from what he felt were winemaking in tinajas sourced from Maule and Itata. standardising forces in winemaking: practices (amphorae) are giving like harvesting too ripe, using herbicides, consumers a new Old varieties, new tricks over-extraction, new oak barrels, enzymes, perspective on Chile It’s not just the traditional regions, but also cultured yeasts and micro-oxygenation. De the old grape varieties that are getting a boost Martino also launched a project, unique at the Below: Torres Chile’s in Chile. País is a fascinating example. Having time, to champion the Itata region. Viejas sparkling Estelado rosé once dominated Chilean plantings (in the mid- Tinajas was a ground-breaking brand and the was the first wine that 1990s, one Chilean vine in three was País), it first wine an old-vine, dry-farmed Cinsault championed the once waned as demand centred on international made with minimal intervention in clay maligned País grape varieties. But now it is enjoying a renaissance, tinajas (large amphorae without the handles). largely due to the efforts of Miguel Torres The first vintage was 2011 and it has since Chile and its winemaker Fernando Almeda. been joined by a Muscat and Carignan. It started almost as a social aid project. In On returning to Itata to get a feel for this an effort to help small-scale growers in the alternative Chile, I found myself sitting at a rural south, Torres launched a project to make table amid ancient bush vines (known locally a sparkling wine: País being suitable as a as Corinto – they think they might be the low-colour, relatively neutral, high-acid white Chasselas), tasting through several variety. The result was the Estelado rosé, vintages of the Viejas Tinajas Cinsault, some of which was well received by critics and got which had been made with sulphur additions, people talking. As well as setting up various some without. ‘Tinajas helped show there was Fairtrade alliances along the way, Almeda then another Chile,’ reflects Retamal. ‘A Chile of moved onto a red País, the critically acclaimed small vignerons with real history and identity; Reserva de Pueblo – by which stage he noted a story to tell. People love these wines. As how the project had evolved. established producers, we can help give this ‘The truth is, I didn’t know País, I hadn’t movement momentum, visibility and worked with it, so I had no preconceptions,’ commercial viability. Chile is changing.’ muses Almeda. ‘I looked at the terroir, talked These days, Itata is a hive of winemaking to people, did trials. And I learned loads! Now activity. In addition to De Martino, the likes of we’ve changed the way we manage all our García & Schwaderer, Rogue Vine, Pandolfi vineyards. And this has come from learning Price, Koyle, Montes and Tinto de Rulo are all from País, which people said we could never names to watch, making thirst-quenching, make good wine from. That’s the fun of it!’ expressive wines from scented Muscat to In addition to the likes of País and Cinsault, joyous, almost ephemeral reds. There’s an there are interesting revivals happening intriguing sparkling project (Itata Profundo) with old-vine Malbec, Muscat, Pedro ➢ 4 4 | J u l y 2 0 1 5 • DECANTER DECANTER • JULY 2 0 1 5 | 4 5 CHILE Ximénez and Semillon, among other varieties, varieties, one task remains vital for Chilean some of which have been overlooked or wine: improving the quality and diversity of its misidentified in mixed field plantings. One Cabernet Sauvignon. This classic variety, intriguing example is Romano, believed to be which accounts for a whopping third of the the same as César in Burgundy, which Santa national vineyard, is all too often blandly Carolina is reviving as part of its heritage homogenous, over-ripe and overdone. Again, programme, the wine being wonderfully juicy history is coming in useful. and elegantly textured. Santa Carolina is pursuing a promising Another example, perhaps better known, is project to revive the spirit of the majestic, Carignan. While an increasing number of ageworthy, elegant Cabernets it was making in Chilean producers are making Carignan, its Macul vineyard in the 1950s and 1960s. ‘Vigno, the nowhere is this revival more intriguing than Although the Macul vineyards were long since with Vigno, the association of Carignan bulldozed under Santiago’s urban sprawl, the Carignan growers who have clubbed together to winery is using old-vine material rescued from establish a shared trademark (or an alternative the original vineyards, harvesting early and group is a appellation, depending on your point of view). ageing the wines in large oak foudres in an The idea is that producers who buy into the attempt to recreate the wine style that quantum concept and make wines according to the set originally made Chile’s name on the world rules get to use the Vigno brand (short for stage. The new wine is called Luis Pereira and leap forward Vignadores de Carignan). The rules are: to use the 2012 vintage is 13% alcohol with no a minimum 65% Carignan from dry-farmed acidification, cultured yeast or enzymes. ‘We for Chilean bush vines that are at least 30 years old and want to make a wine that can develop well growing in Maule Secano, aged for a minimum over 50 years,’ asserts viticulturist Alejandro wine – selling of 24 months before release. Twelve wineries Wedeles. ‘It’s not the commercial mainstream initially joined the scheme, which was but it’s important for our future.’ Chile to the launched in 2010, the brainchild of local wine Similarly, Concha y Toro’s Marcelo Papa is a journalist Eduardo Brethauer and Gillmore winemaker rejuvenated.