Fine wines to know from Chile and Argentina
A select band of producers in Chile and Argentina offer wines acknowledged as the pinnacle of what’s possible in their locations. Yet cult status still has to be earned, says Anthony Rose.
Almost by definition, any wine that has icon status conferred on it by its own producer is not an icon. As Achaval Ferrer’s Julio Lasmartres puts it, the status of icon is ‘not something that you can name by your own judgement, but a recognition which can only be given to you by customers, trade and press’.
An individual expression of terroir is the sine qua non of an icon wine, and along with it, legitimacy, prestige, longevity and recognition by the market, although the weighting to be applied to each may vary.
For example, Catena has forged its icon status in Argentina thanks to the remarkable vision of its owner.
Much the same can be said of Eduardo Chadwick’s Viñedo Chadwick in Chile. Seña with Mondavi, Almaviva with Mouton, Clos Apalta with Marnier Lapostolle and Cheval des Andes with Cheval Blanc are the highest-class expressions of the dovetailing of two cultures.
The consistent track record of Chile’s Don Melchor and Casa Real confers a genuine, home-grown legitimacy on these two stalwarts.
In the cases of Argentina’s Noemía, Chacra and Achaval Ferrer, an ancient vineyard, coupled with European prestige, has resulted in remarkable wines.
By corollary, the relative youth of Paul Hobbs’ Cobos Malbec Chañares Vineyard and Zuccardi’s Piedra Infinita gives them both icon-in-the-making status.
The wines: Full tasting notes available to Decanter Premium members
Fact File: The wines at a glance
Almaviva
Chile
First vintage 1996
Blend Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot
Average annual production 11,670-15,000 cases
Clos Apalta
Chile
First vintage 1997
Blend Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Petit Verdot
Average annual production 2,500-12,000 cases
Viñedo Chadwick
Chile
First vintage 1999
Blend 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Average annual production 400-1,000 cases
Don Melchor
Chile
First vintage 1987
Blend Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc (in vintages since 2009)
Average annual production 13,500 cases
Seña
Chile
First vintage 1995
Blend Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc
Average annual production 4,000-6,000 cases
Casa Real
Chile
First vintage 1989
Blend 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Average annual production 2,500 cases
Piedra Infinita
Argentina
First vintage 2012
Blend 100% Malbec
Average annual production 300 cases
Finca Altamira
Argentina
First vintage 1999
Blend 100% Malbec
Average annual production 830 cases
Noemía
Argentina
First vintage 2001
Blend 100% Malbec
Average annual production 400 cases
Cincuenta y Cinco
Argentina
First vintage 2004
Blend 100% Pinot Noir
Average annual production 1,400 cases
Nicolás Catena Zapata
Argentina
First vintage 1997
Blend Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec
Average annual production 3,500 cases
Chañares Vineyard Malbec
Argentina
First vintage 2014
Blend 100% Malbec
Average annual production 250 cases
Cheval des Andes
Argentina
First vintage 1999
Blend Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon
Average annual production 5,000-6,600 cases
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Almaviva, Puente Alto, Maipo Valley, Chile, 2014
A wine that offers great balance thanks to a growing season that avoided extremes, although there were low yields - particularly with the Cabernet Sauvignon....
2014
AlmavivaPuente Alto
Bodegas Noemía, Noemía, Río Negro, Alto Valle, Patagonia, Argentina, 2015
Arriving in Argentina in 1998, Hans Vinding-Diers and Cinzano heiress Noemi Marone Cinzano found a semi-abandoned vineyard in Mainqué, Patagonia after almost a year of...
2015
Bodegas NoemíaRío Negro
Casa Lapostolle, Clos Apalta, Apalta, Colchagua Valley, Chile, 2014
A 10-year-old library release - the third in a row for Clos Apalta with 'Vinothèque on the label differentiating this release (ex-estate in 2022) from...
2014
Casa LapostolleApalta
Seña, Aconcagua Valley, Chile, 2015
A joint venture between Viña Errazuriz and Robert Mondavi in 1995, Seña became wholly owned by Eduardo Chadwick’s Errazuriz in 2005. His belief in Seña...
2015
Seña
Errazuriz, Viñedo Chadwick, Puente Alto, Maipo Valley, Chile, 2015
If the 2014 meant a tremendous change in terms of style towards fresher fruit, this 2015 feels like a revolution. The harvest was completed in...
2015
ErrazurizPuente Alto
Achaval-Ferrer, Finca Altamira Malbec, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina, 2013
When Santiago Achaval and Manuel Ferrer Minetti linked up with the Italian wine consultant Roberto Cipresso to buy the 8ha vineyard of Finca Altamira in...
2013
Achaval-FerrerUco Valley
Cheval des Andes, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina, 2013
When Château Cheval Blanc’s Pierre Lurton visited Mendoza in the late 1990s, he teamed up with Roberto de la Mota, finding a block of ungrafted...
2013
Cheval des AndesLuján de Cuyo
Viña Cobos, Chañares Vineyard Malbec, Uco Valley, Tunuyán, Mendoza, Argentina, 2014
After cutting his teeth in Argentina at Catena in the late 1980s, Paul Hobbs set up his own winery, Viña Cobos, in Luján de Cuyo....
2014
Viña CobosUco Valley
Concha y Toro, Don Melchor, Puente Alto, Maipo Valley, Chile, 2014
A baby, to be sure, with an explosive combination of dark fruit and minerals on the nose. On the palate, the concentrated fruit dominates, but...
2014
Concha y ToroPuente Alto
Santa Rita, Casa Real, Alto Jahuel, Maipo Valley, Chile, 2013
Santa Rita’s Casa Real is made from the low-yielding 20ha oasis of Carneros Viejo vineyards planted in 1960 in Alto Jahuel at 527m above sea...
2013
Santa RitaAlto Jahuel
Bodega Chacra, Cincuenta y Cinco, Río Negro, Alto Valle, Patagonia, Argentina, 2016
Weighing in at only 12.1% in a light Burgundy bottle with screwcap, Cincuenta y Cinco – so-called because the vines, originating in France, were planted...
2016
Bodega ChacraRío Negro
Zuccardi, Piedra Infinita, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina, 2013
While Zuccardi has ploughed a historic Malbec furrow in the lower-altitude, higher-volume Santa Rosa region in Mendoza’s east, father and son José and Sebastián decided...
2013
ZuccardiUco Valley
Almaviva, Puente Alto, Maipo Valley, Chile, 2014
A wine that offers great balance thanks to a growing season that avoided extremes, although there were low yields - particularly with the Cabernet Sauvignon....
2014
AlmavivaPuente Alto
Bodegas Noemía, Noemía, Río Negro, Alto Valle, Patagonia, Argentina, 2015
Arriving in Argentina in 1998, Hans Vinding-Diers and Cinzano heiress Noemi Marone Cinzano found a semi-abandoned vineyard in Mainqué, Patagonia after almost a year of...
2015
Bodegas NoemíaRío Negro
Casa Lapostolle, Clos Apalta, Apalta, Colchagua Valley, Chile, 2014
A 10-year-old library release - the third in a row for Clos Apalta with 'Vinothèque on the label differentiating this release (ex-estate in 2022) from...
2014
Casa LapostolleApalta
Seña, Aconcagua Valley, Chile, 2015
A joint venture between Viña Errazuriz and Robert Mondavi in 1995, Seña became wholly owned by Eduardo Chadwick’s Errazuriz in 2005. His belief in Seña...
2015
Seña
Errazuriz, Viñedo Chadwick, Puente Alto, Maipo Valley, Chile, 2015
If the 2014 meant a tremendous change in terms of style towards fresher fruit, this 2015 feels like a revolution. The harvest was completed in...
2015
ErrazurizPuente Alto
Achaval-Ferrer, Finca Altamira Malbec, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina, 2013
When Santiago Achaval and Manuel Ferrer Minetti linked up with the Italian wine consultant Roberto Cipresso to buy the 8ha vineyard of Finca Altamira in...
2013
Achaval-FerrerUco Valley
Cheval des Andes, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina, 2013
When Château Cheval Blanc’s Pierre Lurton visited Mendoza in the late 1990s, he teamed up with Roberto de la Mota, finding a block of ungrafted...
2013
Cheval des AndesLuján de Cuyo
Viña Cobos, Chañares Vineyard Malbec, Uco Valley, Tunuyán, Mendoza, Argentina, 2014
After cutting his teeth in Argentina at Catena in the late 1980s, Paul Hobbs set up his own winery, Viña Cobos, in Luján de Cuyo....
2014
Viña CobosUco Valley
Concha y Toro, Don Melchor, Puente Alto, Maipo Valley, Chile, 2014
A baby, to be sure, with an explosive combination of dark fruit and minerals on the nose. On the palate, the concentrated fruit dominates, but...
2014
Concha y ToroPuente Alto
Santa Rita, Casa Real, Alto Jahuel, Maipo Valley, Chile, 2013
Santa Rita’s Casa Real is made from the low-yielding 20ha oasis of Carneros Viejo vineyards planted in 1960 in Alto Jahuel at 527m above sea...
2013
Santa RitaAlto Jahuel
Bodega Chacra, Cincuenta y Cinco, Río Negro, Alto Valle, Patagonia, Argentina, 2016
Weighing in at only 12.1% in a light Burgundy bottle with screwcap, Cincuenta y Cinco – so-called because the vines, originating in France, were planted...
2016
Bodega ChacraRío Negro
Zuccardi, Piedra Infinita, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina, 2013
While Zuccardi has ploughed a historic Malbec furrow in the lower-altitude, higher-volume Santa Rosa region in Mendoza’s east, father and son José and Sebastián decided...
2013
ZuccardiUco Valley
