It’s Chilean wine, but not as we know it

Too often Chilean wine is thought of as “cheap and cheerful” and only offering simple bold fruit flavours.

Jorge Matetic Hartard, President, Matetic Vineyards

However there are a growing number of winemakers working hard to expand the international view of Chilean wine so to include a more sophisticated style of winemaking.

A tasting from Matetic Vineyards in the San Antonio Valley showed just what is on offer from winemakers seeking to develop the image of Chilean wine. The first wine from the cool San Antonio Valley region was the Corralillo Sauvignon Blanc. The grapes for this wine are sourced from all three of the Matetic vineyards – the Valle Hermoso, Santo Tomas and Rosario vineyards – all of which are subjected to the cooling influences of the Pacific Ocean. The grapes are handpicked each vintage in lots no larger than 12kg to ensure minimal time between picking and arrival at the winery and one half of the harvest undergoes a four-hour maceration to enhance the aromatic profile of the wine. This wine showed fruit flavours dedicated Sauvignon Blanc drinkers would be familiar with all neatly wound around a lean structure.

Growing up with passion fruit vines in the garden I spent a good portion of my childhood parked outside next to the vines, teaspoon in hand and eating as many fresh passion fruit as possible before being discovered. The nose and flavour of the Corralillo Sauvignon Blanc instantly transported me back to those days of stabbing open a fresh passion fruit with my teaspoon, the pungent and tangy perfume of the breaking skin enveloping you before diving in to the fresh pulp and seeds, leaving your taste buds tingling.

In addition to fruit I also found aromas that reminded me of the smell of rain when those first drops land on hot dry stones. This balance of fruit and mineral flavours together with a good dose of mouth-watering acidity creates a wine that will appeal to a wide range of white wine drinkers, including those who perhaps wouldn’t choose a Sauvignon Blanc as their first preference.

In discussing the history of the vineyard with the President of Matetic Vineyards, Jorge Matetic Hartard and the export manager, José Miguel Irarrázaval, they confirmed that the first vines were planted in 1999 in the Rosario Valley, a sub division of the San Antonio Valley, which lies between Casablanca and San Antonio. A decision was made very early in the life of the winery that the vineyards would be managed according to biodynamic principles and methods (a good explanation of what this means can be found on the Matetic Vineyards website.

A common topic for discussion amongst those who choose to manage their vineyards according to biodynamic principles is how to work with one’s neighbours, who do not adhere to these principles of agricultural management, in order to minimise the impact on the vineyard. With this in mind I posed the question to Jorge and José as to how they managed this at Matetic and the question was met with mild bemusement. The vineyards are situated in an enclosed valley, 10,000ha in length, in a country blessed with pristine landscape and space – this is not an issue they face.

Matetic Vineyards have two tiers in their portfolio, the entry level Corralillo and the next level up, the EQ range. There is also the flagship Matetic Syrah which is only made in vintages deemed of good enough quality and even then, only 200 cases are produced each vintage.

Fortunately for us the 2009 Matetic Syrah was included in the tasting. The grapes for this wine are sourced from two of the three Matetic vineyards – the Santo Tomas and Rosario vineyards – and this includes some of the oldest vines on the property from 1999. Hand harvested and aged in a mix of old and new French oak, this wine was one of the favourites for the group. With each sip it revealed different flavours on the palate showing a progression from black fruits to spice and finally dark minerals that reminded me of a freshly sharpened pencil.

What was very apparent from this tasting is that Chilean winemakers are successfully producing very reasonably priced wines that challenge the perception of wine from Chile as “cheap and cheerful”. These are winemakers led by a desire to create wines that are uniquely Chilean and that clearly represent the landscape from which they are produced, all within a framework of elegance and restraint and I am excited to see this continue.

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