The Top 100 Wines of the Andes 2017
The fact that six out of ten wines in this year’s Top 100 Wines of the Andes 2017 list are from Chile clearly tells everyone that the country is really on top of its winemaking game. We think Chilean wines have never been better thanks to a string of excellent vintages and a general improvement in viticulture and winemaking, which has finally arrived at every level of the market. That’s also why we gave perfect scores to the first three wines. They are great wines by all standards and rank among the best wines of the world, even when compared against classical regions such as Bordeaux and Burgundy.
Mountain views of Chile’s Colchagua Valley
Our No. 1 Wine of the Andes is the 2015 red from the famous estate of Almaviva, a joint venture project with Bordeaux’s great Château Mouton-Rothschild and Chile’s respected Concha y Toro. The Bordeaux blend is made in some of the best-established vineyards in Puente Alto and by some of the most competent winemakers in the world including Mouton’s own Philip Dhaullin. The 2015 Almaviva Puente Alto shows incredible energy and depth with ultra-fine tannins and focused bright fruit. It is a benchmark for the reds of the Andes, emphasizing harmony and precision instead of power and ripe fruit. It’s a 100-point wine.
“Now is the time for Chile!” enthuses Eduardo Chadwick, the dynamic owner and winemaker of some of the best estates in Chile including the 2015 Seña Valle de Aconcagua, No. 2 in the list and also scored 100 points by JamesSuckling.com this year. His own 2015 Viñedo Chadwick Cabernet Sauvignon Valle de Maipo comes in at No. 9.
Argentina is no slouch, however. We put four wines in the Top 10, and three are not even malbecs. The greatness of such wines as cabernet and syrah as well as chardonnay underlines how Argentina is slowly moving away from being only considered the best malbec producer in the world to one of the best for everything. “We have so many great areas and terroirs that our potential is still endless,” agrees Laura Catena, whose family is better considered a wine dynasty.
Catena Zapata Chardonnay Mendoza Adrianna Vineyard White Stones ranked 4th
We went to Argentina and Chile in April for almost a month and tasted more than 1,800 wines. So we weren’t short on choice in compiling our Top 100 Wines of The Andes 2017. JamesSuckling.com editorial assistant Raffaele Vecchione and director Berenice Maulhardt organized the tastings at Faena Hotel in Buenos Aires and W Hotel in Santiago. We also visited a number of vineyards.
What we looked for in wines included in our list of Top 100 Wines of The Andes was not only pure quality, which is of course reflected in our ratings. We also considered excitement and value. Indeed, while many of the wines at the top of the list are expensive — some are more than $100 a bottle — there are many wines that are less than $20 a bottle. South American wines aren’t necessarily the cheapest, but ounce per ounce they often offer arguably the best quality for your buck out of any region in the world. Often, a $18 bottle of wine from the Andes might cost two, three or even four times more from such prestigious countries such as France or the United States.
James tasting with Andrea León, winemaker of Lapostolle and Clos Apalta.
Perhaps most importantly, there’s an innate drinkability to the wines of the Andes whereby everyone can buy the wines and enjoy them right away. Buy them in-store or online and drink them as soon as you get home; Andes wines are for today and tomorrow. They fit with the lifestyle of current wine drinkers, most of whom have little time, money or space for aging wines. This is particularly true in Asian countries where Chile has a massive presence including in South Korea, China and Thailand.
Combined, however, the United States remains the most important market for Andes wines. And the market share of both Chile and Argentina remains strong due to the excellent quality of the wines. I hope you enjoy our Top 100 Wines of the Andes 2017. —James Suckling, Editor