Changes in attitude via a change in latitude

After spending a week in Mendoza our small band of winos hopped on a flight and flew over the Andes to visit two producers in Chile:Aresti Vineyards and Los Vascos. I had not had the opportunity to explore Chile before and was a bit apprehensive about the quality and consistency of the wines. My prior experience had not been very positive, but as always I kept an open mind and looked forward to being surprised.

The Aresti family is a dynamic group of passionate individuals that have multiple businesses throughout Chile, but their joy is wine. The first wine incarnation for the family was as producers of bulk wine in the 1950's. It was not until the 1990's that they decided to create a new winery and separate fine wine production from bulk wine production. The first commercially viable vintage for Aresti Vineyards was 1999 with fruit from their own vineyards and some sourced grapes. Fast forward to 2009 and the Aresti family is producing wines of character, elegance, and beauty. Lead by a new wine making team of Jon Usabiaga and Sofia Araya the wines of Aresti have moved into another stratosphere with the support of Vicente Aresti, CEO and son of the patriarch Dom Vicente. Mr. Aresti has spared no expense to produce the best possible wines. He has been committed to improving every technique from the vineyard to the shipping to ensure that his family's wines are the best they can be. Currently the winery produces an array of wines across four ranges of wines: Estate, Organic, Trisquel and the Family Collection.

The Estate line of wines produced two of my favorites the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc and 2008 Pinot Noir both from vineyards in Curico. The Sauvignon Blanc was bright, fresh and packed full of citrus fruit aromas and flavors with touch a touch of fresh grass. The wine is simple but over delivers for $10. The Pinot Noir was a smash hit and out shined all the other offerings of Pinot Noir. We were all surprised by the grapes being from Curico, due to the intense heat of the area, but the wine was gorgeous. A shinning example of purity with classic sour cherry, red raspberry and red currant aromas and flavors. The wine had a bright pop of acidity and finished with a touch of earthiness. At $12 to $13 one would be hard pressed to get so much Pinot Noir from anywhere else in the world.

The Organic or Equilbrio range of wines hit a bull's eye on the first shot. The Carmenere was the best example of this grape I have ever tried. The wine was jammed full of black plums, black cherries, smoke, savory spices, lavender, and dried herbs. The palate was medium in body with ample amounts of fruit, tannin and acidity. The Cabernet Sauvignon was plump, dense, and concentrated. The wine had aromas and flavors of cassis, blackberries, cedar, cinnamon, clove and cherry pipe tobacco. The palate was full in body with a long finish. Again, both wines over deliver for wines that cost $12 to $15. The wine is currently not in the U.S.but will be coming soon.

Trisquel is a homage to three generations of Aresti's who all work together to produce fine wine. The two wines in this line were not only great but surprised the heck out of us were the Gewurztraminer and the Syrah. When Ifirst saw the word Gewurztraminer on a label had already decided that it was going to be a fat, nasty, and sugary mess, well I was sorely mistaken. The wine was very ripe but not un-balanced. There were aromas of lychee, roses, pineapples, sweet spices, and some fresh herbs. The palate was lush with fruit but finished with a kiss of acidity that cleansed the palate and invited another glass. The Syrah showed the true passion of head winemaker Jon Usabigaga. The moment the wine was poured it was special. Deep and dark in color with aromas that captivated me from the moment I pull the glass off the table. The wine's nose showed blackberries, blueberries, black olives, lavender, dried earth, leather, and white pepper. The palate was rich and lush with the fruits being present but not over-powering the subtleties of the non-fruit flavors. The tannins were firm but not overbearing and the wine had a finish that lasted for a long long time.

The Aresti family is pouring their heart and souls into making their wines better with every vintage and it was a pleasure to taste  the wines and hear from the wine making team on their future plans on how to make each of their wines better. It was very refreshing to sit with winery owners, importers, vineyard managers, and winemakers and hear no ego  or pride, but only the desire to make better wine.

Aresti Vineyard's wines are imported into the U.S. by Broadbent Selections.

Comments

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