Vintus

Terroirist, a daily wine blog, published a piece on a Master Class hosted by Wines of Chile at Chrlie Palmer Steak in Washington DC. The wines ranged from $9 to $85 per bottle (wholesale) and were tasting in three flights – Chardonnay, Workhorse Reds, and Icons. The 2007 Errazuriz Don Maximiano Founders Reserve led the “Icons” category. Here are some tasting comments:

“A look into how these wines can age was provided by the 2007 Errazuriz Don Maximiano. The structure on this wine featured a regal, even tannin set, refreshing acidity and well-integrated fruit and earth. I’d be excited to try this wine in ten years — or more.” Click here to read the full post on the Master Class.

In the first ever Berlin Tasting carried out in the United Arab Emirates, Errazuriz flagship wine, Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve 2009, was placed on top of some of the best wines of the world. More than 40 attendees – consisting of sommeliers, members of the Middle East wine trade, and some VIP consumers – gathered together in Dubai to blind taste historic vintages of Chateau Margaux, Chateau Mourton-Rotschild, Chateau Lynch Bages and Opus One.  Don Maximiano 2009 took 2^nd place in the blind tasting,  beating out some of the best wines of the world! Click below to read the full article.

Don Maximiano 2010 won “Best Premium Red” and the top prize “Best in Show” after three days of blind tasting over 600 wines at the 10^th Annual Wines of Chile Awards. There were 18 trophies awarded and Errazuriz took 3 a total of three, Don Max took the top 2 and the 2011 Chardonnay Aconcagua Costa landed their “Best Chardonnay” award. You can see the full list of award winners below or you can click here to read more on the event on Harpers Wine & Spirits Trade Reviews.

Here is the full list of trophy winners:

• Best Red Blend – Sideral 2009, Viña Altaïr
• Best Cabernet Sauvignon – Arboleda 2010, Viña Arboleda
• Best Carmenere – Marchigue Private Collection 2011, Viñedos Marchigue
• Best Chardonnay – Aconcagua Costa 2011, Viña Errazuriz
• Best Late Harvest – Erasmo 2008, Viña la Reserva de Caliboro
• Best Pinot Noir – 20 Barrels 2010, Viña Cono Sur
• Best Sauvignon Blanc – Outer Limits 2011, Viña Montes.
• Best Syrah – joint winners – Single Vineyard 2011, Viña Cono Sur and 20 Barrels 2010, Viña Cono Sur
• Best ‘Other’ Red – Vigno Garcia Schwaderer 2009, Garcia & Schwaderer
• Best ‘Other’ White – Santa Carolina Reserva Moscato 2012, Viña Santa Carolina
• Best Rosé – Litoral Rosé of Pinot Noir 2012, Viña Ventolera
• Best Sparkling – Santa Digna Estelado 2012, Miguel Torres Chile
• Best Premium Red – Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve 2010, Viña Errazuriz
• Best Premium White – Cipreses Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Viña Casa Marín
• Best Value Red – Oveja Negra Cabernet Franc-Carmenere 2011, VIA Wines
• Best Value White – Santa Carolina Reserva Moscato 2012, Santa Carolina
• Best in the Show – Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve 2010, Viña Errazuriz

Errazuriz 2009 Syrah La Cumbre was No. 1 on the list in Wine Spectator Insider’s January 2, 2013 issue. The wine received a 92 point score and the following review: “This dark yet expressive red offers a rich core of roasted plum, macerated fig and game notes supported by finely textured tannins that lift the broad finish as hints of tar and spice box linger. Drink now through 2018.”

An event held last month at London’s Westbury Hotel by Errázuriz and the drinks business attracted 50 sommeliers, giving Errázuriz a chance to showcase Chile’s ageworthy and fine dining worthy wines from Chile. The vintages spanned from 2012 to as far back as 1995 Don Maximaino Founder’s Reserve. The drinks business article quotes Francisco Baettig, “Chile is about diversity, new players and fine-tuning the wines”. The article goes into great detail on the tasting as Baettig explains to the crowd all that Errázuriz and Chilean wines have to offer. To read the entire article click here.

Francisco Baettig, Chief winemaker for Viña Errázuriz

Big news for Errazuriz, the vineyard area just 7.5 miles from the ocean that the estate planted in 2005 has been officially classified as an appellation, Denomination of Origin Aconcagua Costa. The area had never been planted to vine previously, and Errazuriz made an enormous and daring calculation that this cool area (cooler than the Casablanca Valley) with its low-vigor schist soils would be an ideal area for fresh and complex whites and cool climate reds.  Currently the Sauvignon Blanc Estate is produced from fruit grown at this vineyard, named Manzanar. Click the image below to read more about the Aconcagua Costa DO and on the second page you can see where the vineyard is relative to the vineyards further inland around the winery.

The October 2012 issue of The World of Fine Wine features an article by Benjamin Lewin MW, “Old Bordeaux or New Bordeaux? American Alternatives”. Lewin writes about examining wine alternatives to Bordeaux on the other side of the Atlantic in California, Chile, and Argentina and finds that there are a growing number of substitutes. The Chilean wines as alternatives were Errazuriz icon wine Don Maximiano 2008 and Viñedo Chadwick 2009. See below for his comments on each of these wines: