New World: Pinot Noir - Chile
2019 Gold 1 Silver 2 Bronze 3 Commended 4
2018 Gold 2 Silver 2 Bronze 2 Commended 4
Chile usually struggles to get much beyond Silver medal level in the Sommelier Wine Awards (last year’s pair of top awards was a real rarity), so this represents a decent showing for the country’s winemakers. As well as typically Chilean ‘sweet fruit and tannin-driven wines’ our tasters found fresher, sappier versions – usually from Leyda. As a general guide, the best versions came once our tasters had taken a couple of steps up from the entry level.
What this tasting seemed to prove, however, is that while there is reasonable Pinot being made in Chile, no one region and no one producer is really dominating the horizon with this grape. It would probably help if they did. A Mornington Peninsula or an Ata Rangi to raise the bar a bit and generate unequivocal excitement year after year would help enormously.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘This was a high quality flight. There were quite rich, heavily oaked wines, and at the other end of the spectrum were savoury, almost bretty, gamey wines. We noticed that the more middle-of-the-range price points were the most reliable style. At £12 or £13 these were quite good, with a lot of spice and meaty character.’ Olivier Gasselin, Hakkasan
‘I love that they work the wines in a different way to everyone else. They manage the tannins, so you have these voluptuous wines that have a Chilean signature.’ Michael Harrison, CuVée VIII
‘I really love Chilean wines, but this wasn’t my favourite flight.’ Melania Bellesini, The Fat Duck
‘Leyda Pinot is a real must-have on the list: it’s so charming and alluring on the nose. You want to have it by the glass, though only about half of our flight also delivered on the palate: fresh, confident, technically well made. A bit commercial for natural wine lovers, but for the regular consumer they really deliver. A big tick for Chilean Pinot Noir!’ Sarah Jane Evans MW, team leader
‘The sweet spot was around £10, where there was really great value for money with good varietal typicity… wines that punch above their weight.’ Rebecca Coates, consultant
‘I was expecting something more. Most of them were at the cheaper end, very simple, light styles of Pinot Noir.’ Ennio Pucciarelli, Kahani London