Good Morning!

Alright I have kinda been focusing on the places and not the wine…my bad! Today let’s talk about some of the wine! In total while in Chile I went to 18 different wineries. I tried anything food or wine wise that was put in-front of me.

Tasting wine first thing in the morning is always tricky for me. I like to taste everything, I rarely spit and I love a buzz first thing in the morning, but only if I can have a nap later. I would not be napping later, so I had to pace myself. The folks at Lapostolle wanted me to get a real feel for the wines of Chile. So they wanted to expose me to as many different wines as possible.

Concha y Toro….this wine has always had a negative place in my brain because of something that happened years and years before I even made wine. I have a good friend would would always show up with two massive bottles of Conch for every party at my house and the next morning we would all have banging hangovers.
But last year, I did a ton of research and started trying all the different “brands” of Concha y Toro and I have fallen in love with many of their wines. Actually, if you follow my blog, you know that the Don Melchor was my personal winner of the March Madness of Wines!

So anyway, I arrive at the winery and I got a personal and all english speaking tour by one of the most knowledgeable tour guides ever. We toured the vineyards and home and then went into the winery. I heard the story of the Castillo de Diablo, back in the day the locals would sneak into his cellar and steal his wine. So he started the the rumor that the devil was living in the cellar, to stop the robbers. I will not tell you what happens in the cellar, but if you go to Chile, take the tour…fantastic wines, fantastic tour, great fun in general. Concha y Toro is the largest producer of Chilean wines and if you have a chance pick up a bottle or two of their wines and give them a second chance…it you were jaded like I was…re-educate yourself and your palate.

Their new Trio wines are light, lovely and perfect for this summer! Their Marques Casa Concha Cabernet is rich, full and velvety. And of course the Don Melchor is really worth the cash for a night of elegance.

Next, we were headed to Cousino-Macul. This is the oldest winery in Santiago….originally they were build in the country, but as the city built up, it became part of the outskirts of town. I was led by a young sommelier named Martin (pronounced Mart-een, ) He loves wine and loves the story of Cousino-Macul. I could have listened to him for the entire day. So smart and educated about Chilean wines in general. after a grounds and winery tour, he prepared a tasting of 5 wines. We started out with Rose’, I was blown away by how “full” and “rich” this rose’ was. I love Rose’ but this was special. Try it, you’ll like it!

Next, we tried 3 reds and all had wonderful structure (meaning tannin balance). Also, he discussed pairings and how the country of Chile loves grilled meats. He was right, I will discuss the foods of Chile in a few days, but they might be the best grillers in the WORLD! Then he poured a Riesling…yea, Riesling…I had no idea anyone in Chile was even working with this grape. I guarantee this wine will be in my top wines of the year.

This was not like Riesling I have ever had. This wine was full of flower aromas and so huge on the the nose. Then the straw colored, chilled wine hit my mouth and it was fresh and clean but finished with almost and oily texture. It was a ROCKSTAR in my mouth. I kept sampling and I could not find in my little brain a strong enough vocabulary to describe this wine. I ended up buying a bottle to bring back with me. I did not care how, I was not leaving without this wine.

I will review all of the wineries I visited in the coming weeks in this blog. Cousino-Macul and Concha y Toro set a very high bar. The places were beautiful, the guides all spoke english and the wines were impressive and of course the stories behind the wines and winemakers are historical.

Put these two wineries on your bucket list for Chile.

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Tomorrow, Jerome takes me through the Clos Apalta winery on horseback and teaches me how to tell the grape varietals in a glance.

This is the Riesling of Cousino-Macul, OUTSTANDING!