The 4^th Annual Wines of Chile Awards Seminar

January 11, 2007

A panel of US experts—Bob Paulinski, Bruce Schoenfeld, Darrin Siegfried, Ed McCarthy, Jay Stuart Millar, Joshua Greene, Josh Raynolds, Mary Ewing-Mulligan, and Michael Schachner—have been busy this week tasting more than 450 examples of Chilean wine in 2 price categories: $10.00-$14.99, and $15.00-$25.00. They pronounced their opinions in a seminar this morning before a full house. The verdict? Chile gets a thumbs up in overall performance.

 
The speakers offered suggestions for successful marketing in the various US markets, made comparisons between Chile and other regions, the increasing similitude of wines produced throughout the world, and what Carménère could or should mean in Chile’s portfolio of varietals… and then the moment everyone was waiting for: the judges’ overall opinions on what they had tasted.

What was very clear was the diversity of their opinions. They stressed time and again that there is no one “US preference” when it comes to wines, claiming that “consumers want fruit. If your wine has a good core of fruit and lots of flavor, it will be popular,” stressed Jay Miller.

Even among themselves their opinions varied widely, but what they were clearly most willing and able to agree about was the spectacular quality of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. Other favorites included Carménère, Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Rose. 

Cabernet holds on to its crown

This year’s US panel agrees whole-heartedly with their UK predecessors from versions 1, 2, and 3 of the Annual Awards: Chile makes excellent Cabernet! Equating it to the soul of Chile, they liked that it tends to be more elegant than other new World Cabs, not overly alcoholic, not over-oaked, and more complex than most US Cabs.

Sauvignon Blanc, the Reining White

Mary Ewing-Mulligan stressed the unfairness of tasting Sauvignon Blanc in a clinical setting, that this light and refreshing variety is meant to be enjoyed with food, and added that her best advice is to “drink it; don’t spit it!”

The judges were pleasantly surprised by the excellent selection of Sauvignons, especially in the upper price range, and praised its intensity of flavor and aroma, balance of herbal and fruity flavors, distinctiveness of expression, and, on occasion, interesting mineral notes. 

Carménère:  the jury’s still out

Chile’s “differentiator grape” is still causing a stir. Winemakers keep working on perfecting the style of this relatively young variety, and consumers are still deciding where they stand. The judges are as well. Those with more experience in Chilean wines applauded the advances it has made in recent years and commended the definitive move toward riper versions with no green flavors. As in past years, the response was encouraging, though not uniform. Some like it big and bold and Michael Schachner in particular would push Carménère into the high end, icon wines where every detail is fine-tuned (the New Yorker concluded that this belonged on 5^th Avenue, not on the Lower East Side)… Ed McCarthy, on the other hand, called “Carménère the “great hope of Chile,” as a stand alone or in blends, regardless of the price range. “This is the horse you should ride,” he concluded.

Syrah Será

The panel reiterated what most already knew. Chile also makes great Syrah. For Josh Greene, this was not only the most interesting variety, but also perhaps the most controversial, as it occasionally tugged the judges’ into opposite corners. What fun! As was repeated over and over in the seminar, nobody likes a boring wine, and these certainly generate interest and discussion!

Sideways and Southward: Pinot Noir in Chile

Jay Stuart Miller made a confession: until six weeks ago he had no idea that Chile even made Pinot Noir. Now he’ll be making up for lost time. He was very impressed with what he found, pronouncing it “excellent” and that “it bodes well for sales in the Pinot Noir-crazy US.” Ed McCarthy concurred, calling these Pinots “some of the most exciting Chilean wines to appear in recent years” and Mary Ewing-Mulligan was very pleased with its purity of fruit expression.

Hurrah for Rosé!

Darrin Siegfried wasted no time hopping onto the Chilean Rosé bandwagon. “Good Rosé is a delight, and Chilean rosé is beautiful!” he bubbled. The combination of fruit, low alcohol, good balance, good acidity, and no oak make Rosés some of the most food-friendly wines around, and this former sommelier has taken up his own personal campaign to make sure people know that. But he doesn’t stop there. Citing the tremendous marketing success of the Apple Computer company, he excitedly encouraged wineries to recognize Chile’s opportunity to become the “Ipod of Rosé.” Now there’s an idea!

The official results and award winners will be announced this evening.