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The
wines of Chile
Part 3: Loma Larga, Casablanca Valley
First visit of the day was
to one of the wine estates that’s making waves in the Casablanca
Valley. Loma Larga (which translates as 'long hill') is a striking
operation. Owned by the Diaz family, it's a 700 hectare estate in the
Casablanca Valley, with a sizeable vineyard area of 147 hectares. Of
these, 37 hectares are new plantings that aren't yet producing. We met
with Patricio Diaz (the owner, who still works as a big shot lawyer in
Santiago), his son Felipe (CEO) and winemaker Emeric Genevière-Montignac.
The red grapes, which unusually for Casablanca make
up half the vineyard area, are Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Syrah, Pinot
Noir, Merlot and a little bit of Cabernet Sauvignon. Loma Larga was
the first estate in the valley to plant Cabernet Franc, Syrah and
Malbec. The whites are Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurztraminer.
Quite a few of the grapes are sold – around three-quarters, which is
apparently very profitable business. In terms of actual production,
this is the only winery in Casablanca making more red wine than white.
The estate was purchased in 1994 but five years'
research preceded the first plantings in 1999. Soil analysis was
undertaken across the property, and along with temperature (which
varies quite a bit from block to block), this was used to decide what
was planted where. The first wines made were in 2004 (12 000 bottles)
which increased to 100 000 bottles in 2006. The aim is to increase
production to 300 000 bottles. 95% of sales are export (Justerini
& Brooks are the UK agents).
The Diaz family are green-minded, and want to
preserve the fauna and flora on their estate: they’ve achieved
'Lotus' certification for good environmental practice.
After a tour round the vineyard, we came to the
winery, which is an incredible modern construction (see top and
above). Indeed, it’s the first winery I have seen where
there’s a vineyard on the roof. This is best seen from the aerial
pictures. Basically, the winery is built into the hillside, and
towards the rear of the roof, there are vines which seamlessly merge
into the hill. Inside, everything is very clean and modern.
Emeric explains that he’s trying to do a natural
vinification. The grapes are hand-harvested into 10 kg boxes, and
there's a selection of berries after the destemmer. Most fermentations
are done in 5000 litre tanks, which means it's possible to keep almost
all the vineyard blocks separate.
 Emeric
(right) says he uses lower sulfur dioxide levels than many,
working at 2-3 g/hectolitre whereas 5-6 g/hl is more common. He's
tried a tank without any sulfur dioxide and reports that it is working
pretty well. 'There is no brett here', he adds. 'We only process our
own grapes'. They can work with lower levels of sulfites because the
grapes have good hygeine and the winery is easy to clean. Barrels are
racked directly by gravity with nitrogen. 'We are very respectful of
the must', Emeric reports. ‘We employ high technology, but we use
the old ways – like a small winery’.
Before coming to Chile Emeric worked in France for 8
years, in the Sourth of France (Rhône) and Margaux. 'I came to do a
harvest in Chile and didn't go back', he says.
Loma Larga Sauvignon Blanc 2007
Intense nose is crisp and grassy with powerful herby fruit aromas.
Grassy palate has high acidity and crisp herby flavour. 88/100
Chardonnay 2007 (tank sample)
Barrel fermented with 30% new oak. No malolactic. Tight minerally
nose has some toasty richness and spicy apple and pear fruit. The
palate has some breadth to it with complex bready notes and some
minerally acid. 90-92
Merlot 2007 (cask
sample)
Dark, pure, vibrant raspberry and blackberry fruit nose.
Beautifully perfumed. Lovely focused palate showing ripe, fresh fruit
with great intensity. Pure fruit and good structure. 89-92
Malbec 2007 (tank sample – hasn't been in oak)
Wonderfully pure focused nose with summer pudding fruitiness.
Sweet, intense, focused dark fruits palate with a lovely spicy, meaty
edge. Brilliant, vivid wine. 90-93
Cabernet Franc 2007 (cask sample)
Lovely rich, ripe, dark blackcurrant fruit nose with a minerally,
gravelly edge and nice oak. Tannic on the palate with oak evident.
Ripe, expressive and quite serious. 88-91
Syrah 2007 (cask sample)
This portion was fermented in new oak barrels. Lush, dark and
fresh with bold sweet fruit that has a fresh peppery edge. Really
intense and quite tannic. Polished, modern and focused with lush dark
fruit. This will be blended with the Cabernet Franc and is apparently
very different to the regular Syrah. 90-92
Cabernet Franc 2006
Sweet and ripe with lush, pure blackcurrant fruit and a hint of
greenness. Soft-textured palate has smooth but appreciable structure.
Smooth, ripe and distinctive. 90/100
Syrah 2006
Focused dark fruits nose showing intense blackberry and
blackcurrant character, as well as a bit of spiciness. The palate
shows intense sweet dark fruits with great purity. A soft,
approachable wine. 90/100
Then,
after the tasting, a bit of a treat. Felipe Diaz has a helicopter (his
father, Patricio, jokes that this is the reason he still needs to work
in Santiago as a lawyer, to pay the bills), and he takes three of us
for a flight over the estate. Then after a quick refuel, he gives us a
ride to our next appointment, Matetic in the neighbouring San Antonio
valley. There's a short film of the Loma Larga estate from the air
below.
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these wines with wine-searcher.com
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