Our Top 100 Wines of Chile 2022 list is loaded with newly released bottles from the 2019 and 2020 vintages, but it’s the more challenging 2020 that gave us our top pick despite the drought, heat spikes and COVID outbreak of that year. The fresh, coastal Errázuriz Chardonnay Aconcagua Costa Las Pizarras 2020 is our Wine of the Year – the first time a chardonnay has taken the top honor for Chile.
This is a wine that like most that year was picked early. But the winemakers behind it, Tomas Muñoz and Francisco Baettig, believe that the vineyard’s location, about 12 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean off the Aconcagua coast, helped the 2020 outperform in a warmer year, with the result a chardonnay with a bit more depth and volume on the palate but one that remains pure, limey and flinty.
The wine’s mineral, chalky texture and bright acidity help give it a deliciously austere edge, yet it is still self-consciously Chablis-like, rivaling some of the finest grand crus in its purity and texture but only costing about half as much – around $65 a bottle.
Baettig also runs his eponymous wine project, Baettig Wines, in Traiguen, Malleco Province, where he dry farms his vineyards in the volcanic soils of the cool, rainy region, which enjoys a longer growing season. The result is wines with excellent depth of flavors and aromatic profiles, as well as fresh acidity and more moderate alcohol. This includes the unique Baettig Pinot Noir Traiguén Selección de Parcelas Los Primos 2020 (No. 4), a complex yet brooding and expressive pinot that shows nuance, succulence and a tight structure, recalling a pinot from somewhere around Vosne Romanée for its richness and one from Pommard for its tight structure.
The No. 6 wine on our list is one of our long-time favorites and it’s also made at the hands of Baettig, who in addition to his duties for Errazuriz and Baettig Wines is the winemaker for Seña and Viñedo Chadwick. The Seña Valle de Aconcagua 2020 is complex and spicy, showing richness, structure and density. More impressive is its freshness and juicy fruit – a prized quality in 2020.
“The challenge of 2020 was preserving the fruit’s freshness in the vineyard,” Baettig said during a Zoom interview earlier this year.
It was a vintage where they had to be more precise with irrigation and canopy management to reduce the stress from the lack of rainfall in Aconcagua. It is also a vintage with one of the highest amounts of heat-adaptive malbec in the blend, at 25 percent, along with 53 percent cabernet sauvignon, 15 percent carmenere and 7 percent petit verdot.
Two pure malbecs from 2020 are also found at the top of the list. The Neyen Malbec Valle de Colchagua Espíritu de Apalta Limited Edition 2020 (No. 13) comes from century-old vines and effortlessly yields concentration with lots of blue fruit without the heft, while the Polkura Malbec Valle de Colchagua Marchigue 2020 (No. 20) is a deep, fuller and lengthier malbec with fine tannins and big fruit that remains fresh and expressive.
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As a small producer in Marchigue and a member of Chile’s Independent Winemakers Movement, or MOVI, Sven Bruchfeld knows how to make world-class syrah with minimal access to water. His Polkura Syrah Valle de Colchagua Marchigue Secano (Dry Farmed) 2020, our No. 5 Chilean wine, knocks it out of the park with a perfumed, spicy nose and polished tannins. The gooseberry and subtle red chili, as well as tomato-paste-like undertones, deliciously reflect the provenance.
And out of the 14 syrahs on this Top 100 list, the most of any varietal, many offer exceptional value, including the Lapostolle Syrah Valle de Apalta Cuvée Alexandre 2020 (No. 22), Undurraga Syrah Valle de Leyda Terroir Hunter 2020 (No. 27) and the Emiliana Syrah Valle de Casablanca Signos de Origen 2019 (No. 28).
A few Mediterranean reds from 2019 and 2020 also made the Top 100 list, including a some exciting old-vine carignan wines like the No. 10 Lapostolle Carignan Valle de Maule Vigno Empedrado Old Vines Dry-Farmed 2020, an intense yet highly fluid and drinkable carignan laden with wild blue fruit, white pepper, flowers and graphite.
“In a warm vintage, the Mediterranean varieties feel more at home,” Andrea Leon, the winemaker for Lapostolle and Clos Apalta, said in explaining the success of the grapes amid the heat.
The iconic carmenere-based blend, the Clos Apalta Valle de Apalta 2019, came in at No. 3 thanks to its impressive fruit concentration, fine oak opulence and abundant, polished tannins. “Carmenere is a very important blending varietal that brings color and spices,” Leon said. “It always has some interesting texture and it also makes a good statement for going solo.”
A few premium varietal carmeneres from 2019 also made the list. The Montes Carmenere Petit Verdot Valle de Colchagua Purple Angel 2019, our No. 2 Chilean wine, is a blend of grapes from Apalta and Marchigue, with the carmenere rendered in a big, deep and beautifully hedonistic style without compromising freshness. It was picked late when the leaves were fully red.
In seventh place is the Emiliana Valle de Colchagua Los Robles Estate Gê 2019, the first biodynamically certified Chilean red that has evolved into a fresh and spicy offering since its debut in 2003 and which shows off the massive potential for syrah/carmenere-based reds coming from Colchagua’s dry and sunny Mediterranean climate. It is also a vegan wine and one of the smartest buys on the list.
There are two more cabernet sauvignon-based reds ranked among the top 10. The Almaviva Puente Alto 2020 (No. 8) is a rich and voluptuous yet fresh and textured delivery coming from a vintage in which cabernet-based reds tend to be denser, structured and a little more generous with sweet fruit. In 9th place, the Baron Philippe de Rothschild Chile Valle de Maipo Baronesa P. 2020 is eminently cabernet-driven, showing more structure and power with a very profound and demure nose.
Some of the top cabernets that landed safely on our list delivered excellent consistency in 2019 and 2020. The Vik Valle de Cachapoal VIK 2019 (No. 11) is refined and long, full of racy cassis, olive, red chili and gooseberry, and adds 22 percent cabernet franc to the 78 percent sauvignon. The new release of a premium cabernet sauvignon from Montes, the Montes Cabernet Sauvignon Valle de Maipo Muse 2019 (No. 14), shows terrific complexity, intensity and length – a neoclassical cabernet that is not just about hedonistic pleasures but also finesse and class.
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As the most expensive wine on the list, Eduardo Chadwick’s Viñedo Chadwick Cabernet Sauvignon Valle de Maipo 2020 (No 17) is one of the best cabernet sauvignons from the 2020 vintage. It shows precision and a nuanced delivery despite coming from such a dry and warm year.
We hope you enjoy exploring this list and find the consistent quality and diverse styles of Chilean wine as appealing as we do. Despite a slight price increase for many of the premium wines, value is still a constant for this list, with a quarter of the wines priced at under $30 a bottle. They can come from small boutique producers or incredibly successful big conglomerate brands – but both deserve a place on your everyday wine shopping list. Salud!
– Zekun Shuai, Senior Editor
Note: You can sort the wines below by vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.
