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The wine regions of San Rafael & Los Chacayes with Silvio Alberto, Bianchi

by Amanda Barnes September 6, 2021

Silvio Alberto is one of Mendoza’s most experienced winemakers and in this Terroir Talk he shares his experiences making wine in two terroirs in Mendoza, in that of San Rafael and also of Los Chacayes in the Uco Valley. As winemaker at Bodegas Bianchi he oversees winemaking and viticulture in both regions and in harvest time is regularly driving over 200 km a day to get between vineyards and wine regions.

In this interview and tasting with Amanda Barnes, they discuss the special characteristic of wines from San Rafael as well as the promising potential of Los Chacayes. Within the interview, they taste through the Bodegas Bianchi Particular Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, and also taste both icon wines of the winery: Enzo Bianchi Gran Malbec and Gran Corte.

Terroir Talk interview with Silvio Alberto winemaker Bodegas Bianchi

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Bodegas Bianchi wine tasting notes

Bodegas Bianchi Particular Malbec

Coming from their San Rafael vineyard, this Malbec certainly is particular to the wine region. With a gentle pink peppercorn aroma, Silvio says this is characteristic of the region. It is also quite characteristically Malbec with soft, supple tannins and a rich plum note running through. An appealing wine which perfectly suits an asado.

Bodegas Bianchi Particular Cabernet Sauvignon

Another of the excellent value Particular line which this time shows the unique qualities of San Rafael’s Cabernet Sauvignon, which is altogether much more approachable and supple than Cabernet Sauvignon wines from further north in Mendoza. It lingers with spice notes and that trademark sweet pink peppercorn and has a silky but mouthfilling style.

Enzo Bianchi Gran Corte San Rafael

The original icon wine of Bodegas Bianchi, Enzo Bianchi is a spicy and complex blend that is usually Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec dominant from their vineyard top plots in San Rafael. It often used to contain Petit Verdot, but Silvio has always been a big fan of Cabernet Franc and in the most recent vintages you get some of the floral notes of Cabernet Franc blending in. A complex wine that needs time to decant.

Enzo Bianchi Gran Malbec Los Chacayes

This is the new Enzo Bianchi to join the portfolio, coming from their relatively new vineyard in Los Chacayes. It’s a bold style of Malbec with rather firm tannins and strong presence on the palate which hints at the ageability of Malbec from this emerging sub-region. Bright and fresh black and red fruit on the nose are matched with some floral and graphite notes. This wine also deserves some decanting and will age well for a decade.

Find out more about Bianchi in our winery guide.

Learn more about the vineyards in this vineyard interview with Silvio Alberto.

September 6, 2021 0 comment

Interview with Felipe Muller, winemaker Vina Tabali of Limari

Limari Chile Features Chile Wine Guide Videos Wine

Limarí wine region: A terroir talk with Felipe Müller, winemaker at Viña Tabalí

by Amanda Barnes September 2, 2021

written by Amanda Barnes

Viña Tabalí is the most renowned producer in the Limarí wine region of Northern Chile and winemaker Felipe Müller knows this exceptional terroir better than almost anyone. In this Terroir Talk, Amanda Barnes interviews Felipe all about the terroir of Limarí and what influences the different sub-regions of Limarí and makes it coastal wines so distinctive.

Felipe Müller discusses the differences between the river terraces of the main Limarí wine region compared to the limestone seabed of their famed Talinay vineyard. He also delves into the mountainous wine region of Río Hurtado on the boarder of Elqui and explains why the wines from this Andes wine region are totally different to the coastal wine regions of Limarí.

They also taste through four key wines for Viña Tabalí in a tale of different terroirs: their Talinay Chardonnay and their new Pai Pinot Noir from Talinay vineyard, and the Barranco Viognier and Roca Madre Malbec from Rio Hurtado. If you love Chilean wine, this is an interview not to miss.

September 2, 2021 0 comment

Los chacayes guide. Establishing the Association of Los Chacayes IG producers (Asociación de Productores de la IG Los Chacayes). Photo from Corazon del Sol

Featured Posts Argentina Wine Guide Mendoza Argentina Features Wine

Guide to Los Chacayes Wine Region & Wines

by Amanda Barnes August 26, 2021

written by Amanda Barnes

Los Chacayes is a relatively new wine region in the Uco Valley and home to some of the most exciting new white and red wines of Argentina. Tucked into the Andes foothills in the Tunuyán region, Los Chacayes pioneered by the Lurton brothers, François and Jacques, famed Bordeaux winemakers who decided to invest in Argentina and plant in this virgin land back in 1996. They were clearly onto something as Los Chacayes is now one of Uco’s most desirable sub-regions, with over 1,800 hectares planted to date.

Guide to Los Chacayes

Wineries

Quick Guide to Los Chacayes

Best Wines to try

Map of Los Chacayes

Guide to Los Chacayes GI & wine region

The GI, which was established in 2017, was formed not on the basis of ‘terroir’, but using the legal boundary. This means that, while it isn’t an enormous area, it is quite a diverse region. There are over 700 metres in difference between the highest- and lowest-altitude sites, which in turn make for climatic differences, with sites ranging from moderately warm to extremely cool-climate (from Winkler III to Winkler I). What is more, there are also diverse alluvial and colluvial soils with granite, sand, clay, boulders, and metamorphic and volcanic rocks. And all this within a 15-kilometre radius!

Its great diversity means that Los Chacayes is suitable for a wide range of varieties. There are some excellent white wines from the region — I’m particularly partial to its Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and white Rhône blends. Los Chacayes also produces a range of red varieties with Mediterranean varieties (Garnacha, Syrah and Mourvèdre) performing particularly well, as well as Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. As is the case right across Argentina, Malbec is the local star and Los Chacayes Malbec tends to be filled with bright red fruit aromas with good acidity and firm, structured tannins.

August 26, 2021 0 comment

Guide to Pais wines in Chile, pipeño, zaranda, criolla chile. Chile wine guide

Featured Posts Chile Features Chile Wine Guide Wine

Ultimate guide to País wine, Pipeño & Criolla in Chile

by Amanda Barnes August 18, 2021

written by Amanda Barnes

What is País wine?

The rediscovery of País

Best País wine and producers

Quick guide to País in Chile

Pipeño, chicha and chacolí

Some of Chile’s old País vines beggar belief. Occasionally they are well over 200 years old, almost grotesque in their gnarled, twisting trunks — deformed, or continually reformed, over time. But for the winemaker and wine geek, there’s nothing more beautiful than these Freud-esque nudes of vines, displaying every crevice of age in their fissured trunks.

What is País wine?

País, aka. Listán Prieto in Spain, was the first variety of vine to arrive in Chile, indeed in South America. Known for its high yields and resistance to heat, disease and drought, it was a natural champion for those who pioneered the New World’s wine industry and in the same way that it won fans in North America (where it was called the Mission grape), it also had converts in South America. In the mid-1800s, País is believed to have accounted for 90% of the vines in Chile and Argentina. It was South America’s most-planted variety for centuries, helping give birth to a diverse family of Criolla varieties.

This century, however, País has been losing ground at a rapid rate — down from over 30,000 hectares in 1985 to barely 10,000 today, as producers struggle to find a market for the grapes and wines. Although the vineyard area is just a shadow of its former self, Chile still remains the world’s País heartland with the largest area of this ancient, hardy variety today.

País can be found all over Chile, from the Atacama Desert in the north down to wild vines in Patagonian forests in the south. However, most of the plantings are in the southern regions of Maule, Bio Bio and Itata, tended by the hands of over 6,000 growers. In its youth, País can be a rather rustic grape variety, making wines that are simple with slightly astringent tannins. However, with the benefit of vine age — there are many vines over 100 years old — and made skilfully, País can be nuanced and layered, with fruit, floral and earth aromas, and have a juicy palate with a spine of delicate tannins.

The reason these vines have survived so well over the centuries is because they are incredibly well-adapted to Chile’s environment. So well-adapted, in fact, that some wineries — such as Santa Rita in Maipo — are using País as a rootstock for new vines.

País vines have always been the mainstay of home producers for their pipeño, chicha and chacolí wines. However, when the Bordeaux influence was at its peak in the 20th century, these village wines were shunned in favour of sexier-sounding international varieties. By the turn of the 21st century, commercial wine producers were simply using País to bulk up jug wines, while many vines were being torn out at a swift pace, with few producers giving them a second thought.

August 18, 2021 0 comment

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