KEY POINTS:
Slaking my thirst in the desert with a crisp sauvignon blanc made in the very same country was a somewhat surreal experience. Given the narrow temperate band across the world in which wine can be made, deserts and grapes just don't go. But this is Chile, described by its most famous poet, Pablo Neruda as "this strange sliver of geography", and the wine in my glass hailed from more than 1000km south in a land of incredible climatic diversity.
At 4500km long and averaging 175km wide, Chile is extraordinarily long and skinny. Bordered by the ultra-arid Atacama Desert to the north, with icy Patagonia to the south, the Andes Mountains to the east and Pacific Ocean to the west, its vineyards are roughly situated in the middle, north and south of the capital, Santiago.
While we've only just started to see Chilean wines appearing on our shelves, the country has a winemaking history that dates back to the 16th century, when the colonising Spanish conquistadores took vines with them. This was followed by considerable French influence in the 19th century, which precipitated the spread of the Gallic grapes, such as cabernet sauvignon and merlot, that still dominate Chilean vineyards today.
However, it wasn't until the 1980s that the country's modern wine industry was born. The new stainless steel tanks which preserved the bright fruit that now characterises Chilean wines were brought in, and the old bitter and astringent rauli barrels that had done their flavours no favours were abandoned.
Chile's wines now span fresh aromatics grown in cooler coastal and southern regions, to rich robust reds from the warmer central regions, with the sauvignons from Casablanca and San Antonio regarded as some of the main contenders to New Zealand's sauvignon crown.
That said, Chilean sauvignon had something of a false start. The wines only recently started to shine when plantings were made in the cooler regions best suited to the variety with "proper" sauvignon vines, following the discovery that most of what had been regarded as sauvignon in the country was actually the considerably less enthralling variety, sauvignonasse.
Another case of mistaken identity proved more fortuitous for Chile - providing it with a real point of difference in a sea if international varieties through its flagship grape, carmenere. After falling out of favour in the vineyards of Bordeaux, carmenere had almost died out there when it was found alive, well and in abundance in Chile, masquerading as merlot.
Since the mid-1990s, Chilean winemakers have taken pains to separate carmenere from true merlot and plantings have increased across the country. Chile now produces most of the world's carmenere, making darkly coloured, smooth and spicy wines with a signature savoury herbal note.
With its warm climate and good growing conditions, Chile is able to produce great value wines akin to those of Australia. But unlike Australia, which struggles with droughts, snow melt from the Andes provides Chile's vines with plentiful irrigation.
HOT WINES FROM CHILE
DEVILISHLY GOOD
Casillero del Diablo Carmenere 2006 $18.85
With its voluptuous blackcurrant fruit, ripe tannins, notes of freshly ground coffee, spice and the green peppercorn/herbal notes that characterise the variety, this seductive example from Chile's largest winery, Concha y Toro, shows carmenere in all its rich and velvety-textured glory.
(From selected branches of New World, Scenic Cellars, Village Winery, Hamilton Wine Company, Duffy & Finn's)
THE SECRETO'S OUT
Viu Manent Secreto Casablanca Sauvignon Blanc 2006 $24.95
New Zealand needs to watch out with impressively vibrant and fresh sauvignons like Viu Manent's Secreto coming out of Chile. Kiwi vintner Grant Phelps has crafted an example with ripe fleshy papaya and guava infused with subtle dried herbs and lifted by zesty citrus and an elegant minerality.
(From www.goldmedalwines.co.nz)
NO FOLLY
Montes Alpha Apalta Vineyard Colchagua Syrah 2006 $33
When Aurelio Montes planted this untried variety on the precipitous slopes of the Apalta Valley, people thought it a folly, inspiring the name of his top syrah. Its potential was soon proven by The Folly and this, its little brother, with its layers of cherry and strawberry, florals, vanillin oak, spice and leather.
(From Glengarry and wine stores nationwide)
