It’s been a while since Michael and I have gone off just the two of us and discovered a whole new wine region. And I am happy to report that our recent visit to Chile and Argentina exceeded all expectations – it was nice to stir up a similar type of excitement we felt after visiting other more prominent wine regions for the first time, many years ago now.

Before visiting, it is easy for one to group them together in your mind. “The wines of Chile and Argentina”. As if it is one country. Yeah, that’s where all the “value” wines come from, right? Other than the fact that Chile is primarily Cab (with a smattering of Carmenere) and Argentina is primarily Malbec, it would be easy to assume there is not much of a difference between the two.

While the value characterization of both is certainly true, and they are both neighboring Latin American countries, that is where the similarities end. These countries could not be more different - in terms of topography, climate and soils, as well as culture and personality.

First of all, think about Chile’s topography. I assume you have seen its unique, extremely elongated sliver of a shape, the entire territory just west of the majestic Andes, and just east of the Pacific Ocean. Did you know its Pacific coastline is more than twice as long as California’s? So what does that mean? First of all, incredible seafood! We had the most amazing shrimps, clams, oysters, scallops and of course, Chilean Seabass. We had an amazing and rare shellfish called Machas for the first time, which was as delicious as it was unique.

Argentina, on the other hand, has its Atlantic coastline on the eastern coast, but most of the huge country is land-locked. Think “Home on the Range” territory – complete with cowboys (gauchos) and more cattle than you can imagine, So there is practically NO seafood because - make no mistake: you are in BEEF COUNTRY. If you ordered shellfish in Argentina, they might question your manhood! And worse, if you were a vegetarian, I suggest you stay home. However, for fellow carnivores, the quality of much of the steak is pretty amazing and quite different from USA beef. Grass fed, and less fatty, I found it to be delicious and more easily digestible than our beef. Argentines certainly love their barbeque (asado) and steakhouses (Parrillas)! Most eat beef at least 5 times a week!

The parallels of the grape growing climate in Chile’s Maipo Valley with that of California are almost eerie. Here we are, half a world away, and yet the weather is exactly like CA, i.e. the closer you are to the ocean, the cooler (and foggier) it gets. So yes, while Chile’s Central Valley is warm and sunny most of the time, and easily ripens varietals like Cabernet and Carmenere, the coastal vineyards are much cooler (think Sonoma Coast!). In fact, on our first day, we drove west from inland Santiago (which was sunny and 85 degrees) to KINGSTON FAMILY VINEYARDS in the Casablanca Valley, which was encased in thick fog (and about 65 degrees) – And this happens every day until early afternoon! So naturally, what grows well in the Casablanca Valley? Like California’s Sonoma Coast, it’s Pinot and Sauvignon Blanc!

For contrast, you would have to be insane to plant Pinot Noir or Sauvignon Blanc in Mendoza, Mendoza’s wine country is just on the Eastern side of the Andes from Maipo Valley (and only a 40 minute flight from Santiago), but the inland climate is much hotter and drier than Chile. Practically desert-like, if it weren’t for the amazing Andes water runoff (which provides more than enough water for this entire region to irrigate not only its grapes, but also many beautiful trees and vegetation), making Mendoza a literal desert oasis, a wine industry in Mendoza would not be possible. Over the years, the grape of choice here has been the Malbec, the little appreciated grape from France that has adapted and mutated here to thrive in these unique conditions. 

Chile is not really a wine drinking nation and therefore, its entire wine production was developed almost exclusively as an export industry. Partly for this reason, as well as others political, the Chilean wine business has always been dominated by very few players. Vineyards were developed by family growers, but they sold their entire production to one of several huge wineries, such as Concha Y Toro, which we were told, controls over 60% of the entire Chilean wine output! For comparison, that’s at least twice the share that Gallo holds of US domestic wine production. So having great wineries like Kingston and Tres Palacios are that much more special – since they are so uncommon. But alas, finding other small, artisanal growers to add to our portfolio has proven no easy task.

Argentina, on the other hand, has a HUGE domestic wine market. Per capita wine consumption in Argentina is among the highest in the world. Thus, many vineyards and wineries developed over time, even before the US (only recently) discovered its taste for Argentine Malbec and began importing it. There are nearly 1000 small wineries throughout Mendoza (and more all the time as the demand for Malbec is currently booming) and we have already established some new contacts and tasted some interesting potential additions to the portfolio!

The personality of the Chilean people also seems very different than that of Argentina. The stereotypical Chilean is very straight-forward, serious and hard-working, while the Argentine has more in common with the stereotypical Latin-American – working only as much as necessary, fun-loving, and outgoing, The Chileans are also a very homogeneous looking group ethnically. Mainly Spanish descent, mixed with Native Indians. Argentina is a melting pot immigrant nation (with a very significant 2% Jewish population by the way), mainly from Europe, mostly Italian, with a heterogeneous European look to them.

While both countries have had about a decade of mainly stable political conditions (allowing their wine industries to flourish and grow exponentially) both have had more than their share of political upheaval over the years, even including fairly recent military dictatorships, where vast amounts of private wealth and property were seized and expropriated by the state, dissidents murdered and personal freedoms taken away. That said, Chile is the more stable nation of the two, as Argentina’s history is dotted with one political and financial crisis after another, from Evita to the military dictatorships of 1976-83, and a major economic crisis in 2001, where many of the country’s banks collapsed and people’s life savings were wiped out. Argentines have had so many crises that they have a pretty relaxed attitude about the current economic crisis that we currently face, as if it’s old hat.

Anyway, this is starting to sound like either a thesis or tourist guide book. So on to the wines and our visits:

CHILE

KINGSTON FAMILY VINEYARDS

Kingston has owned land here for generations and been growing grapes for decades (and they still sell 90% of their production to other wineries). As Americans who realized the parallels with California grape growing, Courtney Kingston and her family are at the forefront of exploiting what is possible qualitatively in the highly respected Casablanca Valley. And after visiting, we are convinced the sky’s the limit!

The vineyards and “boutiquey” winery are both impressive (with all the qualitative accoutrements i.e. bladder press, sorting tables etc) as was their everyday winemaker Evelyn Vidal. A young Chilean, she has done “stages” in the USA and under Byron Kosuge’s tutelage, has grown in her own right and is doing excellent work. All of Kingston’s 07s and 08s are truly excellent!

The cool climate expressive Syrahs conjure up Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage (really!) and would be easy to sell if the Syrah market weren’t so retarded! Do yourself a favor though and do not ignore the 07 Lucero, the entry level price point Syrah. It is really delicious and would make a SUPER by the glass Syrah! (Note: this used to be called Tobiano but that name is now reserved just for Kingston’s entry level Pinot).

TRES PALACIOS

What a pleasure it was to visit the Palacios estate, in the very secluded Cholqui Valley! And I mean secluded! We drove about 90 minutes southwest of Santiago until finally we arrived at the dirt road that leads up to their estate that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Only walnut trees and citrus groves reminded you that at least some civilization was nearby.

The patriarch of the family, Don Patrizio Palacios, considers Don Quixote his personal hero (dream the impossible dream!) and he is quite proud of what he has accomplished with Tres Palacios. A very successful businessman, one of his companies is one of the largest wholesale fish operators in Chile. (What a spead of seafood we were served for lunch!)

Don Patrizio acquired and developed these vineyards only in the early 90s. He paid a low price for the land because it had not been established that water could be found on the property - but he was pretty sure based on soil testing, that they would find water and in fact, they found plenty. The couple hundred acres of vineyards they planted have since thrived and were quite impressive.

The Tres Palacios wines, particularly the reds, are all very good. The entry-level Reserva line offer “sick” value, and the “Family Vintage” line (slightly higher priced with a touch of oak) are also very good. Their top of the line red blend, simply called “Cholqui”, is also very rich and delicious.

They also made a small amount of PINOT NOIR (priced with the entry level Reserva wines J) that is quite good but production is very limited. I am hoping to secure a couple hundred cases and hopefully grow from there in the future.

ARGENTINA 

HUARPE 

Our first Argentinian visit was Huarpe with its owners/brothers, Maxi and Jose Toso. The history of this winery is important to understanding why these wines represent such super value. The Tosos are important landowners and vineyard owners in Mendoza. Their grandfather, Pasquale Toso, emigrated from Piedmont Italy in the early 1900s, and was a very successful grape grower and eventually established the Toso brand, which was sold in 1996. (now a 4 million cases production brand!. As part of the deal, the family retained several hundred acres of prime vineyard land, some with very old vineyards, with which Maxi and Jose established the Huarpe brand.

We immediately got the feel of the booming market for Malbec as the Toso brothers are expanding rapidly. They just built a new winery, still under construction though ready for this year’s harvest, In fact, the harvest was already underway when we were there and we tasted a vat of 1 day old 09 Chardonnay juice just starting to ferment). Huarpe is still pretty small (08 production was 25K cases) but the good news is that they are expanding to 40K cases for 2009, because of all the excellent vineyards they already own and can easily be converted to their own production. They are also converting to biodynamic farming (!) - though they are not sure they will ever be “certified by Demeter” – but they are at the very least “practicing organic”.

We have known Maxi for a while since he handles commerce (and does a great job) – but this is the first time we had met Jose, who is Huarpe’s very talented winemaker. The wines were all very good, as usual. They also have a late harvest Semillon “Tardio” in a long clear 500ml bottle, which tasted like an underweight auslese but is really cheap (maybe half the price of Bonny Doon’s Muscat Glaciere of yesteryear?)– should we consider this for dessert by the glass biz?

ALTOS LAS HORMIGAS 

Wow what a visit!

Not only did we have an amazing Asado (bbq steak lunch) there, but it became clear why they are making such great wines! Great vineyards and a great team! Majority partner Antonio Moreschalchi did a very smart thing when the consortium that bought Altos (including Marc de Grazia as partner) was formed in 1995: he hired Carlos Vazquez away from Catena, as their vineyard manager, and he is great! Experienced and a well-respected local, he has assembled a team of workers who do a really great job.

The new winery was finished in 2006 and it is extremely well equipped. We know this for a fact, because we were there while they were harvesting their first Malbec of the season! We watched the Bolivian pickers bring in their baskets of grapes one by one (wow do they pick fast) and then followed the grapes into the winery and witnessed the grapes being dumped into the de-stemmer, being sorted on the sorting table, and then the vibrating berries heading into the fermenter one at a time!

Even though most of the grapes are still on the vine, 2009 is already predicted to be a great harvest by many– and they are probably right. Surely, it is an early harvest due to the constant heat and lack of rainfall they have seen this summer. But here, even during drought conditions, it is not a problem because there is plenty of water at all times. And we tasted some really sweet grapes out there…In fact, some of the grapes were getting so ripe so fast, many vinegrowers were irrigating their vines now, to hold back the harvest a little and hydrate the berries a bit….

The 08 Altos and 07 Riserva are terrific as usual. And our image of Altos as one of the finest (if not the finest) value-priced Malbecs out there was only reinforced by what we saw, Bravo!

COBOS 

It may be Chile’s climate that reminded us most of California wine country but pulling up to the new winery just completed at Cobos makes you feel as if you are in the heart of the Napa Valley! A facility where no expense was spared, Andrea Marchiori proudly showed us the Marchiori vineyard where the Cobos fruit comes from (the Beckstoffer Tokalon of Mendoza?) as well as their spanking new winery, where grapes for the Felino Chardonnay were already being harvested and crushed.

The grapes that go into Cobos are harvested much later than other Malbecs. Altos was already harvesting Malbec this week (on March 1), but Cobos never harvests before LATE APRIL and in 2006 (the current release and which Parker rated 99 pts) was harvested on Cinco de Mayo (May 5!)!!!

We tasted the Cobos grapes today and they seemed ready to pick to me, but no, they want them to hang there and develop full phenolic ripeness before picking.

The Felino wines here have really improved, both in terms of taste and packaging. These are amazing values.

All in all, it was a great trip – and it will surely not be our last! I look forward to the day we can all go back together as part of a sales trip! Meanwhile, we are proud of our small South American portfolio and look forward to adding to it soon.

Adios,

HS