South America – observations and learnings

Talk about potential! Chile and Argentina have been improving every aspect of wine production since the 80s, and as they learn more about their unique terroir and which varieties and styles to focus on in their regions, the sky is the limit. Chile in particular seems to have such an amazing range of different climates, soil types and elevations that they could theoretically produce any wine style imaginable. People in the industry here are some of the warmest and most genuine I have ever encountered. The quality of the wines speaks volume, but it is the enthusiasm and honesty with which they are produced that makes them so special. In many of the wineries I visited I felt so welcome it was hard to leave so soon.

Very old vineyards in Cafayate, Argentina

Wine tourism is a rapidly growing business, particularly in Mendoza where it seems hundreds of backpackers are taking bike tours to wineries every day. The proximity and number of wineries in places like Mendoza and Salta make them a bit more attractive for wine tourism, compared to the fewer and more dispersed wineries in Chile. This doesn’t mean they are necessarily better, as I saw some very sophisticated and in some cases personalised and premium examples in Chile. They just need to bring more people there for wine. Whilst tourism is becoming very advanced, communication is not. Countless emails I sent either through my browser or via the winery website went unanswered, which makes it very hard to make appointments. It defeats the purpose of providing contact details on a website if emails are not going to be checked. Many travelers don’t have access to a phone to make calls, and even if they do their Spanish might not be very good and thus are anxious about speaking on a phone.

At Terrazas de los Andes in Mendoza, Argentina

There seems to be more stylistic variety in Chilean wines compared with Argentinian. Whether this is to do with the variety in climates in Chile, or the willingness to make wines against the grain, I am unsure. Malbec too often is too simlar under US$40, and in some cases over $40 it is hard to see what you are paying for. In Chile I tried a great variety of sauvignon blancs and carmeneres that always represented great value. There are many large wineries in both countries, and these tend to produce very similar commercial styles of wine, but it is the smaller artisan producers that are the future of quality wine in these countries. Some of the highlights were Casa Marin, Amayna, Neyen des Apalta and Antiyal in Chile, and Mendel, Carmelo Patti, Monte Quieto and Colome in Argentina. Whilst some may be part of larger groups, the hands-on and yet hands-off approaches to these wines were exceptional.

With a friend in the Apalta Valley, Chile

Single varietal wines are the focus here, taking a leaf out of the success of Australian wines in the export markets. These wines are much more approachable in style and understandability (it’s a word!), but I feel there is so much potential with blended wines, as many of the best I tried took advantage of the best of each variety and combined them into one great wine. It is not hard to understand the historical significance of French varietals in South America, particularly considering the edge they have over the rest of the world with old-vine cabernet sauvignon, carmenere, malbec and torrontes. Considering the climate and the limited access to water, it is a shame there isn’t as much of a push with Spanish and Italian varieties here as there is in Australia. The few that I tried were outstanding, particularly tempranillo and bonarda, but there are many other options as well. Considering the Spanish heritage and language, I would have thought it made more sense to plant Spanish varieties…

Amongst the barrels in Colchagua, Chile

Export strategies are paramount, particularly in Chile where they export far more than they consume. Not only do they understand their markets by placing employees in market, but they also understand the value of not relying too much on too few markets. When you consider the state of the global market, Europe and North America might be down, but Asia and Brazil are up, so it is just a question of shifting focus as markets fluctuate. Salta is expensive and extremely isolated. I’m still trying to determine if I enjoyed my time there. People taking the afternoon off for lunch and a siesta makes things difficult in regions.

A little carried away in the Maipo Valley, Chile

The continent is wide open for organic viticulture; the climate is very warm and dry, and there isn’t much water to be shared. So often I would look at my GPS and it would say I was travelling over a large river, and I would look down to see a trickle of water underneath me. Dry-farming and organics need to be invested in as a much more sustainable and long-term approach to viticulture and wine production.

Carmenere was 'rediscovered' here in the Maipo Valley, Chile

Best region and variety matches; Alto Maipo: cabernet sauvignon, Cajon de Maipo: chardonnay, Apalta: carmenere, Leyda/San Antonio: sauvignon blanc, Elqui: syrah, Uco Valley: malbec, Lujan de Coyo: tempranillo (potentially), Cafayate: torrontes, Colome: ???

With new friends in Santiago, Chile

Come on down to torrontes town (Salta, Argentina - Day Two)

Funny how hindsight is always 20/20, but Salta was a very expensive detour to make. Firstly the rental car here was the most expensive I've experienced at $100+ per day, plus a navigator. Then you factor in the three hours each way from Salta, and the three hours each way to Colome, and that adds up to a fair amount of fuel for two days. Then on the way back from Colome on the previous day I had a blow-out without realising on the gravel highway, and subsequently damaged the wheel, which cost me $220 damages. When you add on accommodation and food, I ended up spending about $500 for two days, well over the $100 per day budget I have set myself. Was it worth the effort and expense? We shall see...

My generous winemaker host from Terrazas in Mendoza had recommended a few wineries to visit in Salta, most notably his close winemaker friend Ignacio at Etchart in Cafayate. At short notice and so close to Christmas I really appreciated Ignacio making some time to take me around the winery. Etchart is one of the oldest wineries in the region, but is now under the French Pernod Ricard banner. It is very strong in the domestic market, which accounts for 70% of its production. The brand is so strong that they are associated with Cafayate, having trademarked the term back in the 60s when torrontes wasn't trendy. Torrontes is the focus here, and with good reason as even though the region doesn't produce the most of the variety, it is regarded as producing the best. This has a lot to do with the large oscillations in temperature between day and night. Ignacio took me out to the estate vineyard which has some of the most amazing vines I've ever seen, torrontes and a parent variety of torrontes, planted back in the 1860s.

Ignacio then took me up to the winery tasting room for a snapshot of the wines produced at Etchart. He opened three torrontes, all at varying price-points to show the variation in style. The Privado 2011 was very crisp, fresh and bright, with good acids and fruit. The Reserve 2011 was a step up in quality, looking for more texture on the palate whilst retaining the freshness and vibrancy. Thanks to some lees contact the wine also had a very soft character of parmesan rind. The top of the range torrontes was the Gran Linaje 2010, which is definitely in the rich, textured and volumous style. There is a nice element of honeyed rosemary which floats above the fruit and floral notes, and the acids ebb and flow gently on the palate. The Reserve Malbec 2010 we looked at had far too much fruit and sweet tannins to be taken very seriously, pretty much consumer friendly fare. The Arnaldo B 2008 blend on the other hand had great subtlety and depth, balance of fruit and savoury sweetness on the back, and excellent structure. Not a great wine per se, but great for US$25!

One of the other wineries that Gonzalo recommended was Nanni, and once I realised why (apart from the wines being good) I had a chuckle. The reason is that Ignacio recently got married to the daughter of the family who own Nanni, and she is good friends with Gonzalos girlfriend. Naturally Ignacio recommended the winery, and was nice enough to call ahead so they would expect me. Nanni is one the oldest wineries in the region that is owned by the original family, now run by the fourth generation. The focus is naturally on torrontes, but they also make a range of reds that include cabernet sauvignon, malbec and tannat. They also make a rosado made from cabernet, and their icon blend is led by bonarda, the next great variety in Argentina. The historic winery is very quaint and charming, and they are one of the few certified organic producers in Argentina, so very progressive as well. Of the wines I tried the Torrontes 2010 was wonderfully fresh and tropical, the Rosato 2011 was textured enough to match with a variety of foods, and the Torrontes Tardio 2010 had a lovely floral and citric nose with good and fresh sweetness on the palate.

Click here to see more photos from Day 2 of Salta

Did someone say isolated? (Salta, Argentina – Day One)

I tossed around a couple of ideas for the name of this entry; Cafayate to Colome Rally; On top of the world, looking down on creation; Extreme altitude; High society; There and back again. Really any of them could apply to the adventures of the day. After arriving quite late into Cafayate the previous night and getting a good night sleep, I was keen to get to Colome on time. Little did I know that getting to the Colome winery is possibly one of the most laborious and treacherous I have ever experienced. Now in my days as a wine professional I’ve driven on unsealed roads to get to wineries plenty of time. Mostly they are the driveway or a side road off the highway, but nothing like this. The National Route 40 for a good 75km from Cafayate to Molinos and beyond is like outback Australia, also because of the scenery. This is not the kind of setting you expect to find a winery, let alone vineyards. Significantly drier and warmer during the day than Mendoza, the altitude of the Salta region alone makes this a cooler climate, as the daylight hours are shorter and the nights are colder.

The Colome winery dates back to 1831 when the last Spanish Governor of Salta planted Bordeaux varieties and established a winery, making it the oldest winery in Argentina. The vineyards here are therefore pre-phylloxera cuttings that are up to 180 years old, possibly the oldest in the world? The winery was re-established in 1998 by Swiss legends, Donald and Ursula Hess, who own wine businesses on four (new-world) continents. Newer vineyards have since been planted to expand the business, and through much better understanding of micro-climates they have planted the highest vineyard in the world, at 3111 metres above sea level. This makes the Colome vineyard seem paltry at 2300m, but still a good 1000m above the highest in Australia. The vineyards are biodynamically and organically farmed, which they take seriously by having signs at the entry to the property asking visitors not to interfere with the environment. The Hess Family are proud of their commitment to the local community and their staff, who are integral to the success of the business. There is also a hotel on the estate that uses organic produce grown on the property to prepare fantastic meals.

The winemaking philosophy is fairly simple, just don't get in the way of the expression of vineyard and varietal. To this end the winemaker Thibault Delmotte ferments in stainless steel vats and tries to use minimal new oak, retaining the freshness and vibrancy. Having access to four vineyards at an altitude range of 1500m means he has lot's of options for blending. Tasting through a number of varieties all grown at different altitudes is fascinating when you consider how the blend will come together. For example Thibault uses tannat that has high natural acidity instead of adding any tartaric or citric acids. In the tasting room I also tried some of the single vineyard wines that I mentioned earlier, and the standout was definitely the Syrah 2010, which had a really interesting shell fish character to it that I've only ever seen in sauvignon blanc from coastal regions.

Click here to see more photos from Salta Day One

Flagships (Mendoza, Argentina – Day Five)

For my (unfortunately) final day in Mendoza, I visited three wineries; two similar, one different. The first was established back in 1901 (the year of Australia’s federation!) by a Spaniard, who named the winery Bosca. It became Luigi Bosca for reasons I can’t quite fathom, but they had something to do with marketing. I’m not sure how the addition of Luigi helps, considering he was the dud Mario Brother… Anyway, the cellar is very large and historic, combining Mendoza cement fermenters stainless steel, 5,000 barrels for maturing the wines, and a fantastic museum area where the 12 pillars of the cross are reimagined as the life cycle of wine and Luigi Bosca. The winery produces in excess of 8 million litres of wine each year, covering 35 different wines. No mean feat for the consultant winemaker Roberto de la Mota, who you may remember is the winemaker at Mendel.

I was taken through part of the winery and part of the range of wines by Soledad, from the hospitality department. She picked a few wines to show me, and whilst good the wines didn’t impress me. The Gala 3 2009 which retails for about US$40 is a blend of viognier, chardonnay and riesling, and not surprisingly the blend doesn’t work. Very tropical mango and paw paw aromas from the viognier and chardonnay give way to a very rich, textured and hot palate, not in balance with the acids. The De Sangre 2009 suffered from a similar blending problem, being cabernet, merlot and syrah. A wine that is very unique to Luigi Bosca is the Finca Los Nobles Cabernet Bouchet, which is a field blend of cabernet sauvignon and bouchet. According to the sommelier the bouchet is the father grape of cabernet franc, but I seriously doubt this. For US$100 this is possibly the most over-priced wine I have tried in South America, as it is incredibly ripe, juicy, broad and full, lacking any subtlety or structure. The wine also appeared hot for 14% alcohol. I really liked the Malbec D.O.C. 2008, coming from a single vineyard in Lujan de Coyo, as it had nice balance between plum and spice with hints of lavender and earth. Definitely the most balanced, and really good for US$40.

My wonderful host Mariana from Finca Flichman recommended a small winery called Monte Quieto, and even put me in touch with the marketing guy. Not expecting to be leaving Luigi Bosca after only an hour I arrived at the winery about 45 minutes earlier than arranged, but they were good enough to welcome me anyway. Monte Quieto was opened in 2001 by another eccentrically wealthy South Americans, initially to grow and sell fruit, but converting to wine production and sales shortly after. The winemaking philosophy is to blend, except of course to make a malbec which the market needs. The winery is evolving fast, changing the blend and learning more about the three vineyards being sourced from. The newly appointed French winemaker is poised to pull the winery into the upper echelons of Mendoza, and is certainly on the right track with blending varieties. We looked at some components for the 2011 blend, which is blended post tank fermentation and maceration before barrel maturing. We tasted the 2006 wine but it isn’t worth talking about as the style and blend is changing. We spent several hours chatting about wine and life, as he had worked for a year each in New Zealand and Australia, at Leeuwin Estate and the Wine Room in St. Kilda. A fantastic afternoon with two great guys, hopefully we can catch up again in the future.

The final visit in Mendoza was to possibly the most important winery in the region. The Catena family have been growing and producing wine for almost 110 years in Mendoza, surviving economic, political and environmental difficulties along the way. What makes the winery so important is that Nicolas Catena was the first in the country to modernise his winery and aspire to make world-class wines by introducing oak barrels and premium techniques from Europe. As such Catena Zapata was a pioneer in the Argentinian wine industry, and was more recently the first South American winery to receive a score of 90+ points in the American media (Wine Spectator). Points are pretty important to the brand as the welcome video shows. The current winery was built in 2002 to represent South America by being built to resemble a Mayan pyramid. Driving towards the building is a somewhat imposing experience, as is standing in the middle of it and looking up. The hospitality side of the business is the most sophisticated I have seen in South America, but has the benefit of selective visitation. Still family-owned, you can tell the employees love working there, particularly as they are taken care of and given opportunities not always possible in corporate organisations.

Catena Zapata now exports about 80% of their production, significantly higher than the national average of 30%. There are essentially three ranges in the portfolio; the Catena range, the Catena Alta range, and the icon range. In the first two ranges I was shown the chardonnay and malbec for each. The Catena wines were very fresh, vibrant, clean and balanced. The acids were nice and bright, whilst the fruit was not to full or simple. The Malbec 2009 in particular had some nice savoury elements rarely seen in an entry-level wine. The Alta range had distinctively more complexity and structure to them, the Chardonnay 2009 being creamier and richer whilst maintaining balance and subtlety, and the Malbec 2008 having great depth, consistency and texture. We finished with the Nicolas Catena Napata 2007, which is always a blend of Bordeaux varieties (mostly cabernet sauvignon and malbec), and is the icon wine of the brand. This wine has received very high points from the likes of Robert Parker and Wine Spectator, and it is not hard to see why. It is very vibrant and intense, full and velvety with good length. In my personal opinion I found that it lacked subtlety and depth for a wine priced at US$120+, and wonder if it is designed for ageing. The wine is by no means bad, but it suffers a common new-world problem of being hard to see what you are paying for. The new oak does get in the way a bit much.

Click here to see more photos from Mendoza Day Five