Chile, Dawg
Brrrrrr. It’s chilly outside, so it’s no surprise we’re craving Chilean wine. Chile brings to mind warmth, sunshine and yummy, comfort foods like empanadas, pastel de choclo (corn pudding), and choripan (grilled sausages). Plus, Harvest 2022 is about to kick off in the Southern Hemisphere, so it’s the perfect time to dig into three new Chilean wines and be transported!
Viña Laurent Wines
After making wine for years in Damien’s homeland of Bordeaux, Damien and Lorena Laurent purchased 4 hectares of vines in Lorena’s homeland of Chile and completed their first Chilean harvest in 2013. Today, with their family, they use minimal-intervention in and out of the cellar, foot-stomp their grapes with their children, and keep their wines at budget-friendly prices. Their ‘Arrogante’ Sauvignon Blanc boasts notes of kiwii and lemon, and is aged in barrel on its lees for five months. While for hundreds of years, Carménère was thought to be the Merlot grape, today winemakers are embracing Carménère as one of their leading red grapes. ‘Inocente’ Carménère is a real, authentic expression, aged in neutral barrels with a slightly smoky, woodsiness layered by a fresh, strawberry jammy finish. If you’re craving a bolder red, try the Laurents’ ‘Reserva’ Cabernet Sauvignon, a full bodied red, aged in concrete, with flavors of black pepper and plums.
2019 Macatho ChaCha
Macarena del Río and Thomas Parayre met while harvesting grapes for Louis-Antoine Luyt, a Burgundy native turned Chilean natural winemaker, who literally put País on the Chilean wine map. Like Luyt, Maca and Thomas are terroir-driven, independent winemakers, and farm old-vine parcels of land in Maule, BíoBío and Itata. Their orange wine 2019 Macatho ChaCha is a minimal-intervention, creative blend of Chardonnay and Chasselas, which rests for almost a month on its skins, imparting an amber, sunset glow in the glass, and boasts complex notes of pine, kumquats, and clementines.
2020 Llomas de Llahuen Pipeño
Winemaker Gustavo Riffo has been organically farming since 1986 on a vineyard site perched at 300 meters above sea level on granite and clay soils in Valle del Itata. Pipeño, or ‘peasant wine,’ made from the País grape, is meant to be consumed easily, affordably, and joyously. Try Gustavo’s Llomas de Llahuen Pipeño with your next pizza night, and although it’s freakin’ freezing outside, chill the Pipeño down a bit before you cozy up in front of the fire. There’s a simple flavor recipe for a good País: smoke, raspberry, blood orange. Gustavo’s País has it all.
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