Chile’s Mediterranean Soul, and a Closer Look at Italy's Vibrant Dry Whites: Weekly Tasting Report (May 11-17)
We tasted and rated more than 600 wines over the past week, which is about our average now as we aim to hit 30,000 wines tasted by the end of this year. James and Associate Editor Claire Nesbitt are still in Bordeaux finishing up their en primeur tastings, talking to producers and enjoying the great weather (and wines, naturally).
The quality of the 500 or so barrel samples from 2021 that James and Claire have tasted so far is impressive for what happened during the grape-growing season, which was one of the most difficult in a long time, with plenty of calamities. But the wines are fresh and tensioned with medium body and a pretty balance and focus, with no green wines to be found. James’ second special report on Bordeaux will feature as our weekly tasting report next week.
In the Hong Kong office, we’re close to wrapping up our Chile tastings. One of the highlights for us during the week was tasting the wines of Koyle, a biodynamic project run by Cristobal Undurraga. These were elegant and mineral deliveries of Mediterranean-style reds coming from the foothills of the Andean mountains in the Colchagua Valley. Koyle’s Cerro Basalto range includes a carmenere (with 15 percent cabernet franc), a varietal garnacha and a Mediterranean blend of monastrell (mourvedre), garnacha, cariñena and a touch of syrah.
The three wines speak the same language with a fresh utterance of red to blue fruit and a refined minerality that accentuates texture, transparency and purity. Senior Editor Zekun Shuai loved the fine austere verve of these wines, saying they’re bottles you really need to take some time with and engage to appreciate the tension, purity and refinement they offer now.
Koyle’s flagship wine, the Viña Koyle Valle de Colchagua Los Lingues Auma 2018, comes from selected plots on the highest and third-highest terraces of their vineyards, which range from 400 meters to 580 meters altitude with deep, basaltic bedrocks and not so much clay. This carmenere/cabernet-based red really embraces the zero-gravity style of wine to show how natural concentration, volume and intensity don’t only come from more earth-bound wines.
Another fine example of ethereal concentration is Lapostolle Carignan Valle de Maule Vigno Empedrado Old Vines Dry-Farmed 2020. This wine is part of a special project called Vignadores de Carignan, or VIGNO, which promotes old-vine carignan wines from Maule. It’s also among the best offerings to showcase Chile’s Mediterranean freshness from these dry-farmed, old bush vines, of which there are fewer than 800 hectares planted in the country. Coming from Empedrado, which is close to the coast in Maule, the wild blue and red berry expressions with hints of dried flower and white pepper spices keep it irresistibly crisp, juicy and drinkable despite coming from an arid and warm year.
“Mediterranean grapes feel at home [here], and they keep acidity through the season,” said Lapostolle winemaker Andrea Leon, adding that he avoids new oak and heavy extraction when working with Carignan. It’s the commitment to quality from people like Leon, who lavish attention on the old carignan vines, that make the VIGNO wines unique and ones to be savored.
READ MORE: TOP 100 WINES OF CHILE 2021
The highest-scoring wine we tasted from Chile over the past week was the Vik Valle de Cachapoal VIK 2019, an iconic cabernet blend (78 percent cabernet sauvignon, 22 percent cabernet franc) that aims for ultra-premium quality. While the 2019 VIK is silky and complex with a voluptuous expression of currants and sweet berries with some high-grade, creamy oak, the wine is not shy on Chilean cabernet’s racier characteristics – in this case, sun-dried tomato leaf or red chili pepper, which knit well with the notes of currant and chocolate.
VIK winemaker Cristian Vallejo is now working more toward integrating terroir into his winemaking through the concepts of what he calls “amphoir” and “barroir.”
“We have been making our own amphoras with the clay near the winery. We call it ‘amphoir,’” Vallejo said during a Zoom interview. He told us he was excited to get deeply involved in finding such clay and convincing a local amphora master to help design and make the vessels for the winery.
Vallejo is also developing his “barroir” concept to bring a sense of place to the oak aging process by using local oak trees to toast the barrels coming from France. With the help of Jean Luc Sylvain of the Tonnellerie Sylvain, Vallejo believes that the “barroir” process also gives the precision they want from micro-oxygenation and the subtle flavors from barrel aging.
Meanwhile, back in Europe, Senior Editor Stuart Pigott was focused on the Northeastern Italian region of Alto Adige (Sudtirol), where he found one of the best Italian dry whites he has ever tasted. “The Castel Juval Riesling Südtirol Vinschgau Windbichel 2019 is a mind-blowingly vibrant dry white and an Italian riesling revelation!” Stuart said. “it has incredible peachy fruit, wild herb and wet stone complexity.”
Stuart said he remembered his first tasting of a dry riesling from the estate, which is owned by the family of Reinhold Messner, the first man to climb Mount Everest without oxygen almost 20 years ago. “The wine’s brilliance was a stark contrast to the shabbiness of the Berlin apartment where I encountered it,” Stuart said. “After I met winemaker Martin Aurich a couple of years later I knew something big was coming.”
Castel Juval wasn’t the only Alto Adige winery to show stunning late-released 2019 wines. Cantina Terlan had four wines in this category that were truly outstanding. Three of them were dry whites, and the Cantina Terlan Lagrein Alto Adige Porphyry Riserva was their highest-rated red ever. It is remarkably plush for the Lagrein grape, which can have gritty tannins.
READ MORE: OUR TOP 100 WINES OF 2021
Stuart’s tastings also included the first 2021s from the region. “On the basis of this showing, 2021 is clearly a mixed vintage for Alto Adige with a tendency toward high acidity,” he said.
There were also some excellent dry whites, like the moderately priced Cantina Terlan Alto Adige Cuvée Terlaner 2021, which Stuart said is “already delicious, with an excellent balance of substance and freshness.”
There are so many wonderful wines we tasted during the week, with plenty of quality, affordable choices from Spain, Chile, Italy, the United States and elsewhere. Have a look at the notes below to find what suits.
– Zekun Shuai, Senior Editor, and Vince Morkri, Managing Editor
The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated during the past week by James Suckling and the other tasters at JamesSuckling.com. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. Some will be included in upcoming tasting reports.
Note: You can sort the wines below by country, vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.