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Viñedo Chadwick celebrates two decades on the global stage
Viñedo Chadwick, located in the heart of Puente Alto, south of Santiago, has gained global recognition for its Cabernet Sauvignon, generating growing interest in Chilean wines for more than two decades.
Viñedo Chadwick burst onto the global stage in 2004 with a comparative blind tasting in Berlin led by renowned expert Steven Spurrier. Organised by winery’s owner Eduardo Chadwick, the event paired Chadwick’s 2000 vintage against some of the finest wines in the world, including top Bordeaux first growths and Super Tuscans from the millennium vintage.
Three Chilean wines ranked in the top five out of 16 wines evaluated by a panel of 36 leading European wine professionals. Viñedo Chadwick 2000 was rated first after the tasting.
The event, referred to by the producer as the ‘Berlin Tasting,’ marked the beginning of a series of international tastings that have led to Viñedo Chadwick’s global recognition. According to Chadwick, the event demonstrated Chilean wine’s ability to compete with Bordeaux and Tuscan labels and the country’s vibrant wine industry.
This year, Viñedos Familia Chadwick commemorated the Berlin tasting’s 20th anniversary with a series of worldwide exclusive tastings, culminating in a masterclass in Santiago held on 7 November. The anniversary event, attended by industry leaders and wine critics, showcased the quality and legacy of Viñedo Chadwick, along with other celebrated wines from the family’s vineyards.
From polo field to vineyard
Although the company is much younger than many of its competitors in Berlin, Eduardo puts its success down to its Maipo Valley terroir. He founded the winery in 1992 in Puente Alto in honour of his father, Don Alfonso Chadwick, and the family’s centuries-old history.
The family initially migrated from England and Scotland in 1820, when Thomas Chadwick settled in Chile’s La Serena, encouraged by the opportunities opening up in the local mining industry. Don Alfonso was born in 1914 and began his career by setting up Chile’s first wine brokerage in the early 1930s. In 1942, Don Alfonso bought the Viña San José de Tocornal estate in Puente Alto, where he built his family home and polo field.
Eduardo, Don Alfonso’s youngest child, has dedicated his life to raising the quality standards within the Chilean wine industry. Inspired by the potential of Puente Alto terroir, he convinced his father to convert the family’s prized polo field into a vineyard.
According to Chadwick, the area is considered ‘the cradle of Chile’s finest Cabernet Sauvignon,’ although Carménère is among the grape varieties planted in the region.
Nestled in the Alto Maipo Valley beneath the Andes Mountains, at an altitude of 650 meters, the region’s unique terroir benefits from shade in the morning as the sun rises over the mountain range. Warm, sunny afternoons are followed by colder nights cooled by alpine winds.
These daily temperature fluctuations are credited to slow down the ripening of the grapes, leading to an extended growing season and the development of rich, well-balanced tannins. The gravelly soils, remnants of ancient alluvial terraces, drain effectively, resulting in small, concentrated berries with complex flavours.
From the start, Eduardo’s vision has been to create a great wine from the special vineyard. As the vines matured, he contributed his success to a better understanding the unique terroir. This year, the winery continued its success with Viñedo Chadwick 2021 vintage, which has garnered acclaim on the international stage.
More than thirty years after Viñedo Chadwick’s planting, Eduardo’s four daughters—Magui, Mane, Pepa, and Ale—are working alongside their father to nurture the family estate and are honoured to continue the legacy, memory and achievements of Don Alfonso.
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