Visiting
Chile's wine regions Part 2: Eduardo
Chadwick - Seña, Errazuriz and Viñedo Chadwick
The old polo goalposts in the vineyard at Vinedo Chadwick
Eduardo
Chadwick is one of the leading figures in Chilean wine. Since 1993
he’s been president of Viña Errázuriz, a family owned winery.
Founded in 1870 by Don Maximiano Errázuriz, it has been passed on
through the family ever since, except for a brief interlude in the
1970s and 80s when it was owned by a bank.
In
his late 40s, Eduardo (below) is trim, articulate and has a
polite reserve- he
could be a member of the English aristocracy. Not only has he built
a leading Chilean wine brand from scratch, but he’s also led the
way in trying to prove to the world that Chile isn’t just about
value for money, and can compete with the world’s best. To this
end, Eduardo has been responsible for three of Chile’s small band
of ‘icon wines’: Seña, Don Maximiano and Viñedo Chadwick.
It
was at this latter estate, nestled in what is now the southern
suburbs of Santiago, that I visited him, along with several
colleagues who had also been judging the wines of Chile annual
awards. Originally, the current Viñedo Chadwick this was a 400
hectare property surrounded by open countryside. However, in 1960
the Chilean government instituted a drastic, redistributive land
reform policy. Land owners were to be allowed a maximum of 80
‘basic’ hectares. So, if you had unirrigated land you might be
allowed to keep 200 hectares. The Chadwicks in Maipo were only
allowed to keep 40 hectares, and were forced to sell the rest.
However, Eduardo’s father Alfonso had seen this move coming and so
sold some to Concha y Toro (this is now the Almaviva property) and
some to Cousino Macul, and so on.
At
the same time, Errazuriz itself had grown to 500 hectares, and this
was summarily divided into 35 different pieces, leaving only 15
hectares and the winery in the hands of the Viña Errazuriz company.
Times were tough economically and the Errazuriz winery closed down
in 1970. In 1973 it was bought by banks, relaunched, and then closed
down again. Eduardo’s father bought it back in 1983 and invited
Eduardo, then aged 23, to come on board and manage it.
So,
from 1983 until 1992 Eduardo’s energies were concentrated on the
tough task of rebuilding a once-successful brand. All he had was the
name, an old winery in Aconcagua, and 15 adjoining hectares of
pergola vineyards. A big part of the challenge that faced him was to
develop new vineyard sites in Casablanca and in the coastal part of
Aconcagua.
Cabernet leaf
One
of his main achievements was that in the early 1990s Eduardo
introduced Syrah to Chile. Before this, Chile had just been looking
towards Bordeaux for its varietal mix. He grafted it onto old vine
Cabernet in Aconcagua in 1994, and now there are 2500 hectares of
Syrah in Chile, an area that is growing fast.
In
1990 celebrated Californian winemaker Robert Mondavi came to Chile
and fell in love with the country. A Mondavi/Chadwick joint venture
was born in 1995. Seña, Chile’s first ‘icon’ wine, was first
released in 1997. It was initially produced from other vineyard
sources while a new specific self-contained property in Aconcagua
was identified (in 1999) and then developed. Also part of this joint
venture was Caliterra in Colchagua, and the Arboleda range of
boutique wines from specific terroirs. All of these were separate
entities that coexisted alongside Errazuriz. In 2003 when
Constellation bought Mondavi, Eduardo had first refusal on all the
joint ventures and bought them back. This partly explains the rather
crowded portfolio he is currently in charge of.
A
short film of the visit to Vinedo Chadwick
Seña
is now sourced solely from 350 hectare hillside property, which is
managed under biodynamic lines with Alan York as a consultant. It is
undergoing certification as an organic vineyard, and the intention
is that it should convert fully to biodynamics in time. Six
wineries, including Seña, have formed a biodynamic association in
Chile. ‘Chile has the best potential in the world for organic and
biodynamic viticulture’, says Eduardo. When asked about the
difference that biodynamics has made, he replies that, ‘It’s too
early to see this in the wines’
Viñedo
Chadwick is in the Alto Maipo, and was used as a family home.
Eduardo’s father, Alfonso Chadwick Errázuriz, was a keen polo
player and most of the property was given over to this purpose.
Eduardo came to live here in 1992, the year before his father died,
and made the tough decision to develop the polo field into a
vineyard. 30 hectares were planted, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
and Cabernet Franc. Eduardo did his own massale selection of the
best-looking Merlot, only to find out that it was actually Carmenère.
‘Carmenère doesn’t work here’, he says ruefully, and after
five years of declassifying it, he took it out. So far, Viñedo
Chadwick has just been a straight Cabernet, although newly planted
Merlot and Cabernet Franc is expected to be part of the blend in the
future.
The
vineyard is on a plateau at 700 metres elevation. Frost can be a
risk, and harvest is at the end of April or early in May. ’10
years ago we were keen to plant more Merlot’, says Eduardo. ‘We
imported clones 101 and 181, and as is the tradition in Chile we
planted them on their own roots. It was a total disaster because
they had poor root systems’. Of course, in Europe all vines are
grafted, so the clonal selection would have ignored the root growth.
Eduardo has planted grafted Merlot, but says that it’s a very
difficult variety to farm and get good quality with. The 1999 was
the first release of Viñedo Chadwick, from 8 year old vines. 700
cases are released each year on average.
The
Berlin Tasting In
2004, Eduardo decided it was time to show to a wider audience what
he’d achieved with his top wines. Thus was born the famous Berlin
Tasting. He selected 16 wines from the 2000 and 2001 vintages,
pitting his icons against top Bordeaux and super-Tuscans in a blind
setting. 40 European wine writers and trade people were gathered to
attend a seminar and then a blind tasting, in which they were asked
to rank their first, second and third choice wines. The tasting was
held on 23 January 2004, and was held in Berlin (there’s a website
dedicated to it: www.theberlintasting.com).
‘The UK was my first choice’, reveals Eduardo, ‘but there has
been such a reaction against the “icon” wine concept there. The
only place we have had criticism of Seña was in London, where there
is a reluctance to accept that Chile can compete at the highest
level.’
So
what was the aim of the tasting? ‘On a world perspective we are
trying to prove that we are in the company of the best wines of the
world’, he says. The results were amazing, in that the Chilean
wines did extremely well against perhaps the stiffest competition
imaginable. In full:
2000
Viñedo Chadwick
Viña
Errázuriz,
Maipo Valley
1
2001
Seña
Viña
Errázuriz & Robert Mondavi
Aconcagua Valley
2
2000
Château Lafite
Premier
Grand Cru Classé
Pauillac
3
2001
Château Margaux
Premier
Grand Cru Classé
Margaux
4
2000
Seña
Viña
Errázuriz & Robert Mondavi
Aconcagua Valley
4
2000
Château Margaux
Premier
Grand Cru Classé
Margaux
6
2000
Château Latour
Premier
Grand Cru Classé
Pauillac
6
2001
Viñedo Chadwick
Viña
Errázuriz
Maipo Valley
6
2001
Don Maximiano Founder's
Reserve
Viña
Errázuriz
Aconcagua Valley
9
2001
Château Latour
Premier
Grand Cru Classé
Pauillac
10
2000
Solaia
Marchesi
Antinori
Toscana IGT
‘It
was a milestone for use by demonstrating the quality of the
wines,’ says Eduardo. ‘We never expected this. It became world
news’.
The
tasting was repeated in Sao Paolo, Brazil on Nov 7 2005 (Chadwick
2nd, Seña 3rd); Tokyo 14 June 2006 (Seña 2nd, Chadwick 3rd) and
Toronto 5 October 2006 (Don Maximiano 3rd, Seña 5th and Chadwick
6th). More recently, tastings have been held in Copenhagen and
Beijing.
What
do these sorts of tastings prove? I find them fascinating on a
number of levels, but think that there’s a danger in making too
much of them. Perhaps one thing we can say for sure is that without
the sight of the label, experienced wine professionals consider the
top Chilean wines to be the qualitative equals of what the wine
industry regards to be the benchmark examples of their type, when
tasted young. Did the tasters get it ‘wrong’ in these settings,
in terms of assessing wine quality? I think, to a degree, they did.
Knowing the identity of a wine can lead to a more accurate
assessment of it; of course, it can also lead to people seeing
complexity where there is none and allowing their perceptual
judgements to be influenced by reputation. It’s a complex matter.
The
wines The
notes below are taken from two separate tastings - the dates are
given in brackets as month and year. Some real highlights, including
the fantastic KAI and the debut Chadwick vintage.
Arboleda
Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Leyda, Chile Bright, fresh
and grassy. Nice weight here with some green pepper notes. Stylish,
fresh and quite savoury. Lovely weight. 89/100 (01/08)
Arboleda
Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Leyda, Chile Lovely
assertive grassy, fresh nose with some green pepper and herbs. Quite
savoury. The palate is crisp and zippy with good acidity. A
striking, full-on Sauvignon. 89/100 (10/07)
Arboleda
Chardonnay 2006 Casablanca Valley Fresh, bright
and focused. A bit spicy with some nutty richness. Stylish, fresh
and bright. 88/100 (10/07)
Arboleda
Chardonnay 2005 Casablanca Valley Nutty, full,
rounded and exotic with some lemony freshness as well as rich
toastiness. The palate shows rounded fruity character with nice
richness. Stylish. 89/100 (10/07)
Errazuriz
Wild Ferment Chardonnay 2006 Casablanca, Chile ’I think
it’s difficult to make world class Chardonnay in Chile’, says
Eduardo Chadwick. ‘With wild ferment we are trying to make a wine
with complexity and balance’. Rich, quite complex and bold: an
intense style of Chardonnay that is toasty, nutty and quite rich,
but with nice freshness, too. 90/100 (01/08)
Arboleda
Shiraz 2005 Aconcagua A big wine with
a rich, ripe nose that's dark, sweet, spicy and tarry. The palate is
sweet and dense with rich, forward dark lush fruit. Unashamed new
world style. 90/100 (10/07)
Arboleda
Carmenere 2005 Colchagua Very
interesting gravelly, minerally edge to the sweet dark fruits nose.
The palate is soft with dense sweet, dark fruits with a subtle
herbiness alongside the chocolatey richness. 88/100 (10/07)
Arboleda
Merlot 2005 Aconcagua Intense
blackcurrant fruit nose is vivid and rich. The palate is sweetly
fruited with lush fruit. A big style of red. 87/100 (10/07)
Arboleda
Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Acongcagua Subtle rubbery
edge to the ripe black fruits nose. The palate is sweet and dense
with lots of black fruit. Concentrated with some spicy tannin on the
finish. Intense style. 88/100 (10/07)
Errazuriz
Wild Ferment Pinot Noir 2006 Casablanca, Chile This is mostly
clone 777 plus some massale selection from Cono Sur. Served chilled,
this is bright with lovely fresh dark cherry fruit. There’s some
spicy grip, and attractive berry fruit character on the palate. Very
stylish and it reminds me a bit of the Marlborough (New Zealand)
style. 90/100 (01/08)
Errazuriz
‘The Blend’ 2005 Sweet, ripe
blackcurrant fruit nose with some spiciness. Quite deep and modern,
with a bit of chocolate. The palate is dense and quite tannic with
good richness. Good balance here: a rich, modern style with some
nice structure. 91/100 (01/08)
Errazuriz
Shiraz ‘Le Cumbre’ 2005 Le
Cumbre = The Summit. Ripe
and rich with a bold, chocolatey spicy depth to the nose. There’s
plenty of oak here. The palate shows bold, intense dark fruits
backed up by spicy, chocolatey oak. A very modern style that’s
quite delicious but perhaps a little oaky. 91/100(01/08)
Errazuriz
KAI 2005 Chile’s first
icon Carmenère. Lovely ripe dark fruits nose with a minerally edge.
Dark, brooding and complex, with some gravelly notes. The palate is
dense and full with stylish minerally character. Quite elegant
despite the size. Really stylish stuff, and I really like the lovely
earthy spiciness and the hints of tobacco. This was harvested in
late May, which corresponds to November in the northern hemisphere.
93/100 (01/08)
Don
Maximiano Founder’s Reserve 2003 Very sweet,
ripe blackcurrant fruit nose is lush and generous with some
spiciness. The palate has more of that very ripe, lush fruit with a
pure blackcurrant character. Bold with a little pastille-like
richness. The palate has a tiny bit of hollowness in the middle, and
some earthy tannin on the finish. Quite Chilean in character with
lots of ripeness and sweetness. 90/100 (01/08)
Seña
2004 Aconcagua Valley Sweet
blackcurrant fruit nose with a rubbery, pastille-like red berry
character. The palate is quite savoury with a nice earthy, spicy
structure under the ripe red fruits. Nicely
structured, but still tastes distinctly Chilean. 88/100 (10/07)
Seña
2003 Aconcagua Valley Sweet
blackcurrant and red berry fruit nose with some spicy notes. The
palate is approachable with nice sweet red and black fruits. Nice
spicy structure. 88/100 (10/07)
Seña
2001 Aconcagua Valley Ripe, sweet
nose with some earthiness under the berry and blackcurrant fruit.
Beginning to show some evolution. Lush and quite elegant. The palate
has some spiciness and earthiness with soft texture and smooth dark
fruit. A very stylish wine that’s drinking well now. Quite evolved
so drink soon. This was launched 10 years ago today (the day when
this was tasted). 91/100 (01/08)
Seña
2001 Aconcagua Valley Nicelhy
aromatic blackcurrant fruit nose with some spicy, earthy complexity.
Attractive and perfumed. The palate is spicy with supple red and
black fruit character. Medium bodied and quite tasty with good
balance. 90/100 (10/07)
Seña
1996 Aconcagua Valley Earthy and
spicy with a touch of tar. Perfumed and gently herby. There’s some
sweetness here. The palate has nice fresh acidity supporting the
evolved, earthy fruit with a hint of leafy herbiness in the
background. Nicely proportioned and drinking very well. 90/100
(10/07)
Viñedo
Chadwick 2001 First vintage.
Dark fruits nose with a nice freshness and a subtle greenness.
It’s a little minerally with aromatic pure dark fruits character.
Starting to evolve with some leather and herb complexity. Harmonious
and expressive – almost floral. The palate is dense and earthy
with pure expressive fruit and some structure. Evolving really
nicely with a lovely core to it. Superb. 93/100 (01/08)