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Sarah Wong

Chilean wines are renowned for their value. Walk into a supermarket and you will find plenty of choices under HK$100. The trade organisation, Wines of Chile, has been working hard to dispel Chile's reputation for cheap and cheerful wines. In 2011 it launched a new initiative. It has a lofty goal: to be the top producer of sustainable and diverse wines from the New World, and to reach US$3 billion in exports by 2020.
One person well equipped to rise to the challenge is Eduardo Chadwick, owner of Errazuriz Winery, who embodies the present and future of the Chilean wine industry. He has pushed the limits of quality and proven that the country is capable of producing world-class wines that out-compete first growths from Bordeaux in blind tastings. He is compared to the iconic Robert Mondavi, the man who brought Californian wines to the world's attention.

 
 
Errazuriz Aconcagua Costa Wild Ferment Pinot Noir 2011
Chile is experimenting with pinot noir, a grape that is notoriously fickle. Chadwick has planted the variety in a cooler location, 12km from the sea. The wine style is vibrant and elegant. Perfumed red fruit with hints of strawberries and cherries. Good fruit intensity with crisp acidity and silky tannins. Long finish. HK$240
 
 
 
 

 
 
Errazuriz La Cumbre Syrah Aconcagua Valley 2011
Chile is a latecomer to syrah and only started planting in the 1990s. Syrah can produce a diverse range of styles from spicy, Rhone-like flavours to powerful fruit bombs. Errazuriz's Aconcagua is described by Decanter magazine as "the most overtly New World style of Chilean syrah/shiraz with ripe fruit, high alcohol and creamy oak making for a heady wine". Ripe blackberries, chocolate, spicy notes. Full bodied, with a core of sweet ripe fruit. Soft acid and ripe tannins. HK$599
 
 
 

 
Errazuriz Kai Carménère 2010 
Carménère has become Chile's signature grape variety. It was imported in the 19th century from Bordeaux and originally mistaken for merlot. In 1998 the grape was recognised as a distinctive variety and has grown in popularity. When picked under ripe, carménère tends to have an overt green pepper aroma due to the compound pyrazine. To remove the pyrazine, a later harvest results in aromatics of spice and cloves. Carménère produces wines with complexity and ageing potential. Kai is probably one of Chile's most expensive of the grape variety. Black plums, cherry, chocolate and savoury notes. On the palate is dense, rich and concentrated fruit with ripe tannins and soft acidity. Finishing very long. HK$1,290
 
Wines from Edrington Hong Kong Limited, tel: 2891 8086
 


'Chile's Robert Mondavi', Eduardo Chadwick, embodies quest for higher quality