Chadwick: ‘Asia a level field for Chilean wines’

Eduardo Chadwick, the dynamic and charismatic president of Chile’s iconic Viñedo Chadwick, is very optimistic about China given that the giant Asian wine market has – for a few years now – been fuelling double-digit growth for two of his premium brands, Viñedo Chadwick and Seña.

Eduardo Chadwick, president of Vinedo Chadwick, poses for dbHK in Hong Kong

A late entry into the fine wine world, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wine Viñedo Chadwick only debuted on the international wine scene in 1990s, Chadwick explained, stressing that major markets in the world at that time including Europe and the US were dominated by Bordeaux and California Napa wines.

Long before it became a competitive wine market, Chadwick was striving to introduce his wines into Japan, Korea, China and Hong Kong, where Chilean wines have since grown to enjoy the largest market share in the first two markets and the third largest share in China.

“The good thing is that when we came to Asia [at that time], it was a level playing field. We were all coming here at the same time to get market recognition. The market was learning about wines from anywhere, from Bordeaux, from Chile and from Napa, so the playing field was even. We were in the same place and it was much easier for us to get recognition for our wines,” Chadwick elaborated when talking to dbHK.

Compared with Bordeaux, a longtime market favourite in Asian countries, Chadwick argued that top Chilean fine wines offer better consistency, thanks to a slew of excellent recent vintages.

“In the top wines category, they [Chinese consumers] fell in love with Bordeaux especially with the 2009 and 2010 vintages, but then they could see it was tricky because the price went up and down significantly, they realised Bordeaux offers great wines but they also want to have consistency, so naturally it opened a door for top Chilean fine wines,” he said, adding that China is now the single biggest market for Viñedo Chadwick and Seña.

Viñedo Chadwick’s big break came when Steven Spurrier, the famous wine merchant behind the legendary ‘1976 Paris Judgement’, organised a blind tasting in Berlin pitting Chadwick’s wines against first growth Bordeaux, Super Tuscans and Napa cult wines. Two of Chadwick’s wines surprisingly came out on top, with a third wine in the top five as well.

It was a result that still surprises Chadwick, and this tasting is also credited with putting top Chilean wines on the map as well as helping building his brand appeal in Asian markets, he said.

“No wine critic even rated any Chilean wines before early 1990s,” Chadwick told his guests at a dinner organised by importer Wines Link in Hong Kong. “Whenever I was travelling to Asia, I always tried to showcase our terroir-driven wines. People always asked, ‘what’s your wine’s Parker score’ and we didn’t have one.”

“It was embarrassing because Chile was not on the radar of these wine critics, so how could we get their attention? So in a desperate move, I decided to compare my wines against the best wines in the world,” he said, explaining his motive to organise and participate in the Berlin tasting in 2004.

Eduardo Chadwick speaking to dinner guests in Hong Kong on the history of his wines and the Berlin tasting in 2004

In 2004, his Viñedo Chadwick 2000 came top, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grown from young vines less than 10 years old.

According to Chadwick, the Maipo Valley and Aconcagua Valley, are two regions with great potential for Cabernet Sauvignon that can compete with or even exceed those made from first growth and Napa Valley.

“If you look at Chile from the technical point of view in terms of soil, we have the gravel soil ideal for Cabernet. Also the climate is not too hot and not too cold, and you need ideally a long season that allows you to ripen grapes in a slow and gradual way for concentration of flavours, that’s what we have in Chile.

“From a technical stand point, Chile has wonderful conditions for growing Cabernet. Maipo and Aconcagua Valley are two special regions,” he argued.

Admitting that, stylistically, Bordeaux is still a reference point for him, he continued that Chile has its own take on the Bordeaux style as well in terms of blending grapes and singe varietal Cabernet.

“When it comes to blending, we have Carménère. When it comes to pure Cabernet, we have the silkiness of the tannins, the roundness, the complexity of flavours and aromas, the fruit character of the Chilean Cabernet.”

“Bordeaux Cabernet can be quite tannic. Sometimes the season is shorter to ripen the grapes before the winter comes. Sometimes it’s more erratic and volatile. Chile offers consistent high quality.”