‘Chile needs to develop a more serious appellation system’

Chile must develop an appellation system to highlight and protect its best vineyards, according to Francisco Baettig, head winemaker at Viña Errázuriz.

Speaking this month in London about his newly-launched top-end Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Chile’s Aconcagua Costa, called Las Pizarras, he stressed the importance of promoting the place, rather than creating just another brand.

“If I die on a plane or Eduardo [Chadwick, owner of Viña Errázuriz] sells the property, then this kind of project might disappear because we don’t have an appellation system to protect these special sites, we need to develop a more serious appellation system,” he said at a press event on 4 October.

“Brands are important but we need to move forward, for example, Alto Maipo is huge, and Apalta is smaller, but it’s not legally defined,” he added, picking out two places famous for the production of high quality reds from Chile, mostly using Bordeaux varieties.

Referring specifically to quality-based classifications in Chile, he said that the rules were far too lax, pointing out that producers could use the term ‘Reserva’ if the wine had an abv of 12.5% or more – “so you can find a Reserva wine with a price of $2.”

He also said that there was no legislation for the use of single vineyards on wine labels, and, consequently, commented that you could “invent” a story around any site in the country.

“The problem is that Chile is a pyramid, which goes from the bottom to the top… we need to get together and decide to go into a more restrictive system, and create superior specific appellations,” he stated.

However, he said that already there were proposals being made to legally define and promote Chile’s top terroirs through an organisation of leading producers called Confrère del Vino, with producer Pablo Morandé in particular pushing for a classification for Chile’s wine icons and sub-regions, according to Baettig.

He also cited the success of a classification such as Chile’s Vigno – which began life in late 2011 as an association of 12 Maule producers of Carignan, who imposed strict criteria on vine age, planting density, water use and maturation – and applauded the collaboration among the country’s sparking wine producers, who have devised the newly-launched Espumante de Chile.

He then admitted that some producers don’t believe that Chile needs to legally define sub regions and impose restrictions, saying that “some people think that Chile needs only strong brands and good quality”.

However, he stressed his opposing opinion.

“We need to promote more the terroir from Chile, and that is the goal with Pizarras.”

As previously reported by the drinks business, the new Errazuriz Chardonnay and Pinot Noir follows a Burgundian approach to its labelling, and consequently the wine has been called after the dominant rocks in the vineyard: Las Pizarras, meaning “slate”, while the packaging also clearly references the region, Aconcagua Costa, and the producer remains prominently stated: Errázuriz.

“We didn’t want to do another icon with a different name, we wanted to push Aconcagua Costa as the origin, and the place, Pizarras… it is a more terroir approach,” he told the db ahead of the launch.

Continuing he said, “We wanted to do something like you have in Burgundy where the name of the wine is related to the place, the terroir, and not just a fantasy name.”

Errázuriz’s existing Aconcagua Costa Pinot Noir represents the “village level” offering from the region, while the new Las Pizarras, pictured above, is the equivalent to ‘grand cru’ in Burgundy.

Baettig said last week that he now wants to create a more affordable set of wines in the range, that would represent a ‘premier cru’, which he hopes to make from the 2016 vintage.

The Las Pizarras Chardonnay and Pinot Noir retail for around £34 and £45 respectively.