Innehållsförteckning för October 2019 från Decanter

WHAT I’VE BEEN DRINKING THIS MONTH Forge Cellars, Riesling, Finger Lakes, New York, US The last week has been searing (France’s hottest temperature ever of 45.9°C was recorded 36km from where we live), so we’ve relished the refreshment of the Rieslings from Louis Barruol, Richard Rainey and Justin Boyette. The Classique 2016 is chewy, saline and long, far more structured than most Finger Lakes whites. Best of all was the single-vineyard Sawmill Creek, with its hauntingly honeyed mango and apricot scents and its palate density and strength.…

Malbec MY TOP 25: PREMIUM ARGENTINIAN MALBEC We put together an extensive line-up of top-flight Malbecs from Argentina’s best terroirs and asked Andrew Jefford to select the 25 wines that most impressed Today’s southern hemisphere is full of exciting combinations of variety and location for the wine lover to enjoy. Thirty years ago, that wasn’t true. I’m not going to list those combinations (you’ll each have your own favourites) but want to underline that it is so – and that, in being so, it means we have reached base camp for the exploration of southern hemisphere wine terroirs over the next several hundred years. Terroir wine is not the only sort of wine, but it’s the sort which provides more profound pleasure than any other. It’s born when an ideally…

Old vines Atkins’ pick: top wines made from old vines 1 De Martino, Viejas Tinajas Muscat, Itata, Chile 2017 96 £19.95 Berry Bros & Rudd Aged for seven months on skins in clay pots, this is a modern take on a very traditional style. Scented, elegant and refined, with orange zest and beeswax flavours, plus some tannic grip. Drink 2019-2023 Alcohol 13% 2 Riccitelli Wines, Old Vine Semillon, Río Negro, Argentina 2017 95 £31.95-£37.49 Beckford Bottle Shop, Exel, Hallgarten Wines, Highbury Vintners This remarkable Semillon comes from the cooler Río Negro side of Patagonia. Savoury, bready and refreshing, with a hint of oak and notes of honeysuckle and citrus peel. Drink 2019-2028 Alc 13% Leonardo Erazo, A Los Viñateros Bravos Pipeño Blanco, Itata, Chile 2018 92 £16-£18/litre Exel, Les Caves…

Patagonia Patagonia picks: top bottles to try Trapi del Bueno, Brut Nature Traditional Method, Osorno, Chile 2016 93 N/A UK www.movi.cl This boutique production in Osorno shows the great potential for characterful wines and top-notch traditional-method bubbly here. Wild notes of cider apples and honey combine with yeasty complexity from a year on the lees to round off this cool-climate Chardonnay and Riesling blend. Drink 2019-2022 Alcohol 11.5% 1 Aquitania, Sol de Sol Chardonnay, Malleco, Chile 2015 95 N/A UK www.aquitania.cl The taut acidity on the palate balances this rich, barrel-fermented Chardonnay, which sings with seductive notes of Meyer lemon, hazelnut and lavender. For me this is Malleco’s equivalent of a fine Burgundy. Drink 2019-2030 Alc 13% 2 Casa Silva, Lago Ranco Riesling, Osorno, Chile 2016 94 £18.99-£20 Jackson Nugent…

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE Wine lovers becoming Winemakers All of us are enthralled by the intricate chemistry and elusive magic which is wrapped up in a bottle of wine, yet it is unlikely many of us will be afforded the opportunity, or time, to get mud and must under our fingernails actually creating that decisive link in the chain that runs from vineyard to glass. The Vines of Mendoza has been forging such connections and turning wine lovers into winemakers since 2007, when the first vines belonging to its Private Vineyard project were planted on its estate in the high desert of Mendoza’s Uco Valley at the foothills of the rising Andes. The enterprise now extends to over 600ha of vineyards divided into more than 230 plots ranging from one to four…

Tapia’s picks: top 12 Chilean Carmenères 1 Santa Rita, Floresta, Colchagua, Apalta 2018 96 N/A UK www.santaritaestateseurope.com From vines more than 100 years old, this is the most outstanding member of a new generation of fresh and fruity Carmenères. There are herbal notes, together with juicy red fruit flavours on a medium-bodied, crunchy palate with deliciously fresh acidity. Drink 2019-2023 Alcohol 13.5% 2 Caliterra, Pétreo, Colchagua 2016 94 £17.99 Dulwich Vintners, Museum Wines, Taylor’s Fine Wines, Vagabond From granite soils, this defies the classic Carmenère character with its earthy aromas, fruit strength and body that’s both supple yet tense, like a marathon runner. Drink 2019-2023 Alc 13.5% Clos de Luz, Massal 1945, Cachapoal, Almahue 2017 94 £19.95 (2016) Jeroboams 2017 was warm in the Central Valley, and to counteract it,…

THIS MONTH’S PANEL TASTINGS South America’s other whites & Chilean Pinot Noir Steven Spurrier’s fine wine world Our consultant editor and 2017 Decanter Hall of Fame recipient picks fine wines to drink now and to lay down, all priced at £25 and above Weekday wines By Tina Gellie Want something more adventurous in your midweek wine selection but don’t want to make an expensive mistake? We’ve found 25 exciting wines to try for £25 or under South American whites: beyond Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc 89 wines tasted Find plenty of exciting options beyond the big two, with freshness and vitality to the fore Chilean Pinot Noir 61 wines tasted Showing ‘a big step forward’, said one of our judges, with the high scores reflecting good fruit and character Expert’s Choice:…

WEEKDAY WINES Looking to try something different or adventurous, but don’t want to make an expensive mistake? Decanter’s associate editor Tina Gellie has done the hard work for you, picking out 25 exciting and accessible wines available in the UK for £25 or less Waitrose, Castillo Perelada Brut, Cava, Penedès, Spain 91 V £9.99 Waitrose Made in partnership with Castillo Perelada, this top-value supermarket Cava comes from chalky slopes at 400m in Penedès. Aged for a year before disgorging, it has creamy, leesy tones, orchard fruit flavours and perky acidity to keep things fresh. A value crowd-pleaser. Alc 11.5% Elephant Hill, Chardonnay, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand 2016 92 £19.95 Corney & Barrow, Hic A stand-out Kiwi Chardonnay, elegant, rich and textured, from the estate’s original Te Awanga vineyard. Wild yeast…

Panel tasting THE VERDICT With strong suits in Riesling and Torrontés, there’s a plethora of fascinating white styles emerging too, as new plantings expand in a range of terroirs across South America, reports Patricio Tapia ‘Semillon is the object of a refreshing revival on both sides of the Andes’ To think beyond Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc is not unusual when discussing South America’s white wines. It’s true, both Chile and Argentina – and to a lesser extent Uruguay – have already managed to capture the attention of critics and the public with some very good examples of both mainstream grapes. However, there is life beyond the big two, and this tasting has shown that this life can hold great excitement. ‘The tasting dispelled a couple of prejudices – firstly, that…

CHILEAN PINOT: KNOW YOUR VINTAGES 2018 An abundant yield and slightly late harvest, with good potential. Some coastal areas suffered from rot. Wines seem bright, fresh and expressive. 2017 Torrid heat and forest fires beset one of the earliest, lowest-yielding vintages of modern times. Hardly ideal for Pinot but decent, complex wines have been made against the odds. 2016 Torrential autumn rain hit a slow-maturing vintage. Those winemakers who harvested early and focused on elegance escaped the worst. 2015 Warm weather gave generous wines, often very good. However, all but the best of them are to drink up now. 2014 Spring frosts hit cooler areas, but the season ended well. The wines are pure and precise. Drink up now.…

Expert’s choice URUGUAYAN TANNAT Transferred from its original southwest-French home, Tannat has settled well in this welcoming corner of South America and is now showing great promise, says Sarah Jane Evans MW Tannat. It’s a punchy name that rolls off the tongue. In that respect it’s similar to its other six-letter companion in South America, Malbec, and the two have much in common in terms of stylistic appeal. Uruguay’s Tannat is so often misunderstood to be a synonym for tannic wine. Yet the traditionally tough French variety has relaxed in its South American landscape and become something much more approachable. Could Tannat be set to invade the wine shelves? For sure. There’s plenty to enjoy with supple, drink-me-now, fruit-laden styles, as well as structured I-need-time, more serious approaches. Tannat’s history…

Your Canelones & Montevideo address book ACCOMMODATION Casa Sarandi For a home away from home, Casa Sarandi B&B offers plenty of character, comfort and all the insider information you could want. A cultural immersion in Montevideo’s Old City. www.casasarandi.com Sofitel Montevideo This 1921 art deco hotel is dubbed ‘palace in the sand’ for its prime beachside location in upmarket Carrasco. The epitome of opulent luxury, with handsome suites, a great restaurant, well-stocked cellar and a ritzy casino. https://sofitel.accorhotels.com RESTAURANTS Alquimista Tucked away in a peaceful corner of Carrasco, this B&B-turned-restaurant has tables set in different rooms of the house and garden, making you feel more like a guest than a diner. The innovative and colourful Uruguayan dishes are top restaurant quality. www.alquimistamontevideo.com Mercado del Puerto Eating at Montevideo’s main market…

READERS’ QUERIES Notes & Queries Each month our experts answer readers’ wine queries and share their knowledge Amarone alcohol When buying Amarone della Valpolicella, is it a case of the higher the alcohol content, the better and more expensive the wine? I can pay anywhere between £18 and £35 for a bottle. Also, is Ripasso as good as Amarone? Paul Knott, by email Michael Garner replies: Low-yielding vines and well-sited vineyards are the real source of quality wine, and Amarone is no exception. Sugar content at harvest and the length of appassimento (drying the grapes) determine alcohol levels. The grape-drying process causes water to evaporate and concentrates sugars (plus aroma and flavour compounds); the more shrivelled the grapes become, the less juice can be extracted from…

Grange 2015 leads Penfolds 2019 Collection release Treasury Wine Estates has offered a sneak preview of its Penfolds 2019 Collection, including Grange 2015, to be officially released this autumn. Anthony Rose, the DWWA joint Regional Chair for Australia, rated Grange 2015 at 95 points, versus 97 points for the 2014 that he found more approachable at a young age. He was also very impressed by the St Henri Shiraz 2016, which he said had excellent ageability. Top vintages of St Henri have shown potential for price increases on the secondary market (see box, right), albeit Grange is priced more highly and there is also a precedent for rare, older vintages of Grange to fetch big sums at auction. Read Anthony Rose’s full tasting notes and report online at Decanter.com/decanterpremium…

In brief Stay up to date with the latest wine news on Decanter.com, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter @Decanter ■ Graves estate Liber Pater has priced its 2015 vintage at €30,000 a bottle – ranking it among the most expensive wines in the world. Only 550 bottles were produced, with just 240 to be released onto the market in September 2019. The wine is vinified in amphorae and made entirely with fruit from ungrafted vines, including rare varieties such as Petite Vidure, Tarnay and Castets. ■ A new artificial intelligence (AI) app can translate wine bottle labels into any language, according to its inventor, Third Aurora. The Melbourne-based tech start-up claims that the app can also use AI to translate tasting notes, videos and other marketing material for…

Letter of the month Sustainability challenge The single greatest lesson I’ve learned over a long career in sustainability is that there is no silver bullet. It is a complex web of moving parts and each business, organisation – or, in this case, winemaker – needs to manage the sustainability opportunities most important to them, while at the same time influencing as best they can others in the value chain (such as customers and suppliers). While Brian Smith in his letter (July 2019 issue) encourages producers to adopt organic or biodynamic certification ‘if they really want to embrace truly sustainable agriculture and winemaking’, in my experience this is too simplistic. In the broadest sense, a global organic food and drink system would not be sustainable quite simply…

Elin McCoy ‘Does Japan have to go beyond Koshu to become a global wine hot spot?’ I’m standing in a vineyard where the vines look like small trees, their branches spread in a high canopy with pink-skinned grape bunches protected from rain by small wax paper hats. Anyone who has visited Yamanashi, Japan’s wine country, would instantly recognise them as Koshu, the unique white grape variety that the Japanese have been, justifiably, busy promoting internationally. I became a Koshu fan on my recent visit, but the bigger surprise was how intriguing I found Japanese wines from more familiar grapes. The most impressive one I tried was Grace Wine’s Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 2014, a traditional-method sparkling Chardonnay like a fine grower Champagne. This led me to wondering whether Japan…

Icon wines SOUTH AMERICA’S NEXT ICONS With a better understanding of global trends and a willingness to embrace change, South America’s winemakers have cast off the parochialism of the past and are producing an increasing number of critically acclaimed wines. Alistair Cooper MW picks out 10 that he feels have great iconic potential The South American wine industry is riding a swelling tide; as momentum grows, the excitement is palpable. What started as a quiet, underground revolution driven by a select band of passionate winemakers is now capturing the attention of consumers and wine professionals all over the globe. The self-belief and direction that winemakers are showing, alongside the sense of comradeship and community, have been fundamental in achieving this. Yet there are other factors that have been, and continue…

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE Viña Undurraga A Perfect Plan “Each Undurraga wine seeks to faithfully represent the character of the grape variety it is made from and its place of origin.” If Undurraga is one of the most important wineries in Chile today, this is no accident. Instead it is the result of years of hard work since 2010 when the leadership team put long-term plans in place to reinvent Undurraga over time. The recognitions, awards and high scores we have gained are the results of an ambitious plan that sought to reposition Undurraga from its old image in the 90s to that of a modern winery, with a strong focus on innovation, without ever discarding the experience and history of over 130 years of activity. So, with this objective in place,…

Brazil A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO BRAZIL The quality of wine produced in Brazil has increased enormously over the past few decades, yet it remains an unknown quantity for many wine lovers in the UK. Native Brazilian Dirceau Vianna Junior MW rounds up the regions Since the first vines were introduced to Brazil in 1532 the industry has experienced its share of turbulence, but the overall progress has been astonishing given the challenges it has faced over the years. Investment in technology, infrastructure, training and organisation of the wine sector has ensured a remarkable improvement in the quality of Brazil’s wines over the past three decades. Vines brought into the country by immigrants were first planted in the state of São Paulo. However, climatic conditions, notably heat and excessive humidity, were…

Ahmed’s pick: 20 top Douro reds Niepoort, Turris 2016 97 £149 (2013) Fareham Wine Cellar, Hedonism, Handford Aged in old foudre, unfiltered and unfined, this diaphanous red exquisitely articulates a south-facing centenarian vineyard at 450m in Covas do Douro. Strikingly fresh, with a weightlessness to its stone-washed red berry and currant fruit, moss and pink peppercorn notes and a gentle rub of tannins. Drink 2019-2031 Alcohol 11.6% Poeira, Tinto 2016 97 £40 Fields Morris & Verdin Impeccable balance, freshness and precision showcase Poeira’s north-facing, elevated, Provesende location. Spliced with mineral acidity and chalky tannins, ultra-persistent, firm black berry and currant fruit reveals rose, violets, black tea, bitter chocolate and crushed coriander seed notes on a long, tapering finish. Drink 2019-2035 Alc 13.5% 1 Quinta do Crasto, Vinha Maria Teresa 2015…

Steven Spurrier’s FINE WINE WORLD Decanter’s long-standing consultant editor and 2017 Decanter Hall of Fame Award recipient picks fine wines for drinking now and recommends others to lay down, all priced from £25 upwards FROM THE CELLAR Domaine de Trévallon, Coteaux d’Aix en Provence 1989 This wine – I sold the very first 1977 vintage in my Paris shop and have the superb 2007 in my Dorset cellar – was one of the many stars at Yapp Bros 50th Anniversary lunch in early June, hosted by founder Robin Yapp, his wife Judith and the next generation Jason Yapp and Tom Ashworth. Champagne J Dumangin Fils 2004 preceded magnums of Jean-Louis Chave’s Hermitage Blanc 1983, golden in colour, grandiose on the palate, followed by a sensational Coteau de Vernon Condrieu 2017…

THE JUDGES Anthony Rose Rose writes a weekly wine column for The Independent and is a regular contributor to Decanter, as well as a DWWA joint Regional Chair for Australia. Accolades include three Glenfiddich Wine Writer of the Year awards and a Louis Roederer International Columnist award. His own blog is at www.anthonyrosewine.com. Patricio Tapia Tapia graduated with a degree in journalism in Santiago, before attending Bordeaux University to study winemaking. His several books include Wines for Great Occasions, The Wines of Colchagua Valley and TodoVino, as well as his annual Descorchados guide to wines of Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Uruguay. Daphne Teremetz Teremetz is a wine buyer for Waitrose, responsible for its ranges from South America, Bordeaux, Alsace and Regional France. She began in ladies tailoring at Marks &…

Panel tasting THE VERDICT Judges agreed that Chile can achieve great things with Pinot Noir and found good wines that offered great, fruit-driven value – especially at the mid-price levels. Peter Richards MW reports The ultimate crime with Pinot Noir is to be dull. While Chile may have been guilty of this transgression in the past, this tasting put those ghosts to rest. There was plenty of diversity, character and excitement in evidence, while the pitfalls of excessive ripeness, extraction, oak and alcohol were notable in their scarcity. ‘This tasting was evidence of a big step forwards,’ lauded Patricio Tapia, ‘with not only quality but also real character on show.’ This character may actually have worked against some wines. If you look closely at the scores, you’ll find many wines…

Georgia Grimond MY RIO DE JANEIRO Colourful Rio is home to a varied food and drink scene, from lively street markets to sublime steakhouses. There’s also Brazil’s burgeoning wine industry to discover. Georgia Grimond shares her highlights Rio, with its dazzling good looks and electric spirit, steals the heart of most first-time visitors. There are few other cities in the world that are fringed by sweeping sandy beaches, backed by jungle-strewn mountains and bathed in hot sunshine for much of the year. These awesome surroundings, plus the laid-back attitude of the Cariocas (as locals are known) and the seductive sound of samba are an understandably irresistible combination for many. I first fell prey to Rio’s charms at Carnival in 2011. After five hedonistic days of dancing in the streets followed…

TASTING NOTES DECODED Cranberry Written by Laura Seal The sweetness of fresh cranberries is largely overwhelmed by their acidity, so they’re usually cooked into sauce, jam or juice form. Their sweet and tart flavour profile makes them a useful wine descriptor, and they are found in the wine lexicon as part of the red fruit category, sitting between raspberries and redcurrants. Look for fresh cranberry notes in red wines with high acidity, such as young Pinot Noir from cool climates. In her article ‘Sancerre: the French Pinot Noir you should be drinking’ (available on Decanter Premium) DecanterÕs Tina Gellie says that ‘bigger day-night temperature differences’ in the Loire give rise to ‘crunchy raspberry- and cranberry-style’ Pinot Noirs. The character may also be found in sparkling wines made from Pinot Noir,…

Andrew Jefford ‘Now Taittinger and Vranken-Pommery are English wine-growers’ Thirty years ago, I began a series of 12 monthly articles tracking the undulating fortunes of a single English vineyard, Breaky Bottom in the Sussex Downs, over a single year between 1989 and 1990. On the October day I arrived, the owner, Peter Hall, told me that he’d had no fruit at all in 1987 and precious little in 1988; sales were laborious. He made the dry, classic table wines that met his own finely honed aesthetic standards; but English wine more generally, we lamented, was a national joke, and the prevailing – and failing – style was for semi-sweet wines, inspired by doubtful German models. If you had sketched out today’s UK wine scene to us back then, we would…

Letter from Chile Peter Richards MW ‘Chile needs its wine heroes to be fiercely individual and ambitious’ The Latin American continent has long wrestled with the issue of identity. The seismic collision of indigenous and European (not to mention African) cultures caused immense upheaval from the 16th century onwards. Identity remains a theme hundreds of years later in arenas as diverse as politics, socio-economics, film, literature – and wine. All over the continent, winemakers are re-examining the past and forging a fresh perspective on the future. In Chile this process is throwing up as many questions as answers. Does the future lie in the ‘Bordeaux’ model, majoring on Cabernet Sauvignon together with Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc, in heartlands such as Maipo and Casablanca? Or should the Iberian legacy of Pais,…

The Decanter interview ALEJANDRO SEJANOVICH Exploring higher elevations while at Catena Zapata led Alejandro Sejanovich to follow his own path in conquering some of the most challenging terroir in Argentina. Sorrel Moseley-Williams meets a viticulturist hooked on geographical diversity One day he’s tasting Malbec berries from Mendoza’s highest vineyard, the next he’s armed with a spade shovelling skins out of a stainless steel tank, naked from the waist up to cope with Mendoza’s intense summer heat. ‘I always lose weight during harvest,’ says Alejandro Sejanovich. ‘The vintage diet is the best!’ Sejanovich is co-owner, with Jeff Mausbach, of Manos Negras, and the Maipú-based winery’s name reflects the pair’s philosophy towards winemaking: getting down and dirty with a fearless, hands-on approach. And that’s not just in the…

Carmenère THE NEW CARMENERE Armed with a better understanding of how to get the best out of the variety, Chilean winemakers have created a fresher, fruitier style of Carmenère, says Patricio Tapia ‘It needs a lot of light and enough heat to mature; otherwise vegetal aromas tend to dominate, with the wine tasting more of salad than wine’ Even oenology professors didn’t know what it was. In November 1994, a group of Chilean scientists accompanied French ampelographer (vine expert) Jean Michel Boursiquot through the vineyards of Carmen winery in Maipo Valley. When they stopped to inspect a plot of Merlot, Boursiquot uttered something no one was expecting: ‘This isn't Merlot, it’s Carmenère.’ The Chileans looked at each other. ‘Carme what?’ At the time, it wasn’t as simple as picking up…

Brazil A mixed dozen from Brazil: Junior’s top picks 1 Cave Geisse, Terroir Nature, Pinto Bandeira, Serra Gaúcha 2015 93 £32 Go Brazil Wines Subtle, seductive nose of apple, grapefruit and fresh dough. The palate has notes of buttered toast, honey, almonds, hazelnut and lovely minerality. Harmonious, with a creamy texture followed by a refreshing finish. Drink 2019-2025 Alcohol 12% Miolo, Millésime Brut, Vale dos Vinhedos 2012 91 £19.85-£22.74 All About Wine, Buy Great Wine, Christopher Keiller, Exel, GP Brands, The Fine Wine Co, Vinvm Restrained aromas of grapefruit, green apples and fresh dough. Easy drinking with a pleasant texture. A noticeably high dosage that is offset by balancing acidity. Drink 2019-2027 Alc 12% Casa Perini, Método Tradicional Brut, Vale Trentino, Serra Gaúcha NV 89 N/A UK www.casaperini.com.br Aromas of…

The Spurrier selection Pierro, Chardonnay, Margaret River, Western Australia 2017 93 £44.95 Jeroboams Long one of Margaret River’s best Chardonnays, and this 2017 continues that remarkable consistency. It’s a Chassagne-Montrachet style wine that marries breadth of flavour with delicate intensity, finishing with length and precision. Drink 2019-2024 Alc 14% Terra Costantino, Contrada Blandano, Etna Rosso, Sicily 2014 93 £30.95 Jeroboams A 90% Nerello Mascalese, 10% Nerello Cappuccio blend from 35- to 100-year-old vines at 500m on volcanic ash. Almost delicate fruit expression with a firm backbone – reminiscent of Pinot Noir with more natural energy. A really lovely wine. Drink 2019-2024 Alc 14% Howard’s Folly, Reserva Tinto, Alentejo, Portugal 2012 92 £40 ABS Wine Agencies, Ake & Humphris With labels by the late Howard Hodgkin, whose vibrant colours express the…

WHERE TO GO IN SEARCH OF DIVERSITY If you are interested in going beyond Chardonnay or Sauvignon in South America, you should set off for the coasts of Uruguay, where just a few hectares planted with Albarino are delivering the best white wines in that country today. These are vineyards that face the Atlantic in the charming and very tourist-friendly Maldonado Bay. To find the best Argentinian Torrontés, you should without doubt head to the north, to the Calchaquí Valleys, in zones such as Cafayate or Salta. There, at almost 2,000m high, the new wave of Argentinian Torrontés is being born, offering complex and perfumed, refreshing whites. For Muscat of Alexandria, the best source – over centuries – has been the Itata Valley in southern Chile. Today a new generation…

Panel tasting CHILEAN PINOT NOIR A shift from increasing volumes to enhancing quality is beginning to bear fruit, and signs are that it will only get better as Chile’s Pinot Noir vines mature in the ground, says Peter Richards MW Map: Maggie Nelson If there’s one thing that gets wine lovers hot under the collar, it’s great Pinot Noir. As for the Holy Grail – well, that’s great Pinot Noir at a bargain price. Chile has long been the source of everyday Pinot – one of the few countries to consistently supply this niche. Yet greatness in value is worlds away from greatness in absolute quality, especially when it comes to the brutal meritocracy of Pinot. And the intersection between greatness of value and quality in Pinot is something Chile…

THE JUDGES Martin Lam Lam is a wine, food and restaurant consultant and a mentor of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts. He opened London’s Le Caprice in 1981 as head chef, moving to L’Escargot in 1982. In 1992 he opened wine trade favourite Ransome’s Dock with his wife Vanessa, winning many awards including AA Best Wine List 2009. Peter Richards MW Richards is an award-winning broadcaster and writer, with more than a decade on BBC1 television and four books including The Wines of Chile and his own Chile Wine Brief. He is the DWWA Regional Chair for Chile and, with his wife Susie Barrie MW, he co-hosts the acclaimed annual Wine Festival Winchester. Patricio Tapia Tapia graduated with a degree in journalism in Santiago, before attending Bordeaux University to…

My perfect day in Canelones & Montevideo MORNING Although locals drink yerba mate – an infusion of the dried leaves of a native holly plant, often drunk from a hollowed gourd – you may need coffee. The Lab (www.thelab.com.uy) has a great spot in Punta Carretas where you can start the day, coffee in hand, striding around the windy peninsula. Montevideo’s greatest asset is being right on the water and a coastal walk is the most invigorating way to start (or end) the day. After the morning traffic abates, head into Canelones where every winery visit is a personal affair. One of my favourite trips is to Reinaldo de Lucca (www. deluccawines.com), a true vigneron in every sense of the word, who talks about vine-growing in the most poetic of…

My top 10 in Rio de Janeiro 1 Braseiro da Gávea A firm neighbourhood favourite, Braseiro is an old-fashioned Rio restaurant where the waiters wear white shirts and bow ties, and wheel around with laden trays. There’s only one thing to go for here: picanha (a tender cut of beef) served with the house accompaniments, which include banana farofa, broccoli rice and salad. www.braseirodagavea.com.br 2 Lasai Photographs: David Wall/Alamy; www.lasai.com.br Michelin-starred Lasai represents the best of fine dining in Rio. Though chef-owner Rafa Costa e Silva has taken influence from his time in Spain’s Basque Country, the restaurant uses only local and indigenous ingredients, many grown in its own gardens. For the full experience, go for the 15-course ‘festival’ tasting menu with paired wines. www.lasai.com.br 3 CT…

Market watch Liv-Ex Classification expands All the important fine wine investment news, compiled by Chris Mercer A newly revised classification system for the world’s most sought-after wines has highlighted names to watch on the secondary market. Châteaux Calon Ségur, Rauzan-Ségla and Beychevelle were all promoted by one level to the second tier of the 2019 Liv-ex Classification, having seen average prices rise since the trading platform’s previous ranking in 2017. Carmes Haut-Brion was a new entry in 2019 and also entered the second tier of the five-level ranking. Mission Haut-Brion was narrowly relegated from the top tier. While Liv-ex represents only part of the secondary market, its classification report offers insight into the sector’s depth and breadth. ‘Bordeaux wines make up just 37% of this year’s classification as regions such…

MONTES, ALPHA M, 1999 Apalta, Colchagua Valley, Chile A legend because… It was Aurelio Montes who suspected that the Apalta hillsides had extraordinary potential for exceptional wines. He bought and planted the site in 1989, intending that the area would be the source for his top range. He reduced the yields to levels unheard of in Chile at that time, and gradually launched a range of varietal wines including a Chardonnay, a Syrah and a Cabernet Sauvignon. These made a strong impact on the international market, so Aurelio decided to create an even more special cuvée, which was named Alpha M after his business partner, the late Douglas Murray. Looking back Aurelio worked at a number of Chilean wineries before setting up his own company, Montes, and producing his first…