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Some of you may find it hard to believe but in the last four years, I have rated six Chilean wines 100 points, or as perfect bottles. They include: Viñedo Chadwick Cabernet Sauvignon Valle de Maipo 2014, Seña 2015, Almaviva Puente Alto 2015, Clos Apalta Valle de Apalta 2014 & 2015, and Neyen de Apalta Malbec Valle de Colchagua Espíritu de Apalta Limited Edition 2016. These six wines are the greatest wines ever made in Chile and the first four (chronologically) are in this special case created by the respected Bordeaux negociant, CVBG. These Chilean reds are more than just great wines. They are examples of the winemaking quality in Chile today and a homage to the incredible evolution of premium wine in the Andes nation. These four perfect wines are also a beacon to the world that Chile is a wine country to be reckoned with. For decades, it was best known as a key provider of good quality, inexpensive wines particularly for North America and the United Kingdom. However, today it is clear that the best wines of Chile can be compared to the best of the rest of the world, whether it be a cabernet sauvignon -blend from Maipo Valley or a pinot noir from Casablanca. I expect to see more and more exciting wines coming from Chile, especially as it solidifies its position as one of the key suppliers of fine wines to Asia. For example, Chile has already taken the third position as key exporter of wines to China and the average case price is three times that in the United States. Moreover, it is No. 1 in the South Korean market. With growing demand for high quality Chilean wines in these markets and others, the time for Chilean wine really is now!

THE TIMEFOR CHILEAN WINEIS NOW.

JAMES SUCKLING WINE CRITIC AND CEO JAMESSUCKLING.COM©

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The 2015 season was a dry one, especially during the growing season. Winter was mild with average rainfall records of 283 mm, but for each month between October and April there was almost no precipitation, except for some slight rain in March that had a positive refreshing effect. Spring started with temperatures that were higher than average historical recordings. In particular during October, when the accumulated heat summation was calculated at 19% above that of a normal year.

This gave a significant headstart to the vegetative growth, achieving a well-balanced and healthy canopy. November and December moved from average to cool. Conditions were favou-rable with steady flowering, fruit set and generally healthy fruit conditions. The total heat summation was 5,6% higher than recorded averages.

HARVEST DATES

19/03/2015 to 11/05/2015VINTAGE BLEND

57% Cabernet Sauvignon21% Carmenere12% Malbec07% Petit Verdot03% Cabernet Franc

2015

SEÑA©

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The growing season began with some unprecedented frosts in mid September that resulted in lower yields and predicted a difficult Spring, yet conditions changed radically in October driven by a gra-dual increase in temperatures. Total heat summation during spring was 9% higher than historical average which favored a healthy flowe-ring and fruit set. Summer started with a warm and dry January lea-ding to an early and homogenous veraison along with healthy fruit conditions. A big shift in temperatures occurred from February onwards since temperatures began to decrease all through April and total heat summation ended up below historic averages (-3%), allowing the grapes to ripen steadily until reaching their optimum maturity level. The result of the aforementioned was wines with great tannic structure and depth, along with outstanding aromatic and flavor intensity. Lower yields, dry overall growing conditions along with our constant quest for elegance, freshness and purity resulted in an ear-lier harvest. We started picking the Cabernet Sauvignon on March 18th, with some lots picked up to 15 days earlier than historical ave-rage thus maintaining the wonderful levels of acidity and with the vividly preserved flavors that characterizes this wine. 2014 will be remembered as an extraordinary vintage at Viñedo Chadwick that is heralded for its unique balance, fruit purity and profoundness.To avoid exposing grapes to temperatures, they were handpicked in the morning and transported in small 15-kg boxes. On arrival at the winery, the grapes were carefully inspected on a double selection board to remove vegetal remains and damaged berries to ensure the quality of the wine.

Fermentation took place at 24º-28ºC in in small-volume stainless steel tanks to help increase the percentage of contact between skins and juice. The wine undergoes three daily pumpovers depending on the level of extraction desired in each case. To enhance aromas and colours, the total maceration time was of 23 to 40 days, de-pending on the individual development of each lot. The wine was racked to French oak barrels, 75% of them new, where it underwent malolactic fermentation and was kept for 22 months. Clarification and stabilization occurred in a natural way during this period.

HARVEST DATES

20/03/2014 to 10/04/2014VINTAGE BLEND

100% Cabernet Sauvignon

2014

VIÑEDO CHADWICK©

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The 2015 harvest conditions in Maipo Valley were marked by a drier than average winter, with a cumulative 243 mm of rainfall from May to September 2014. The period from mid-November to mid-December was cooler and cloudier than the first two weeks of November and all of October, which were warm, dry and sunny.

Fortunately these lower temperatures that occurred at the end of flowering period did not affect the future production of the vines. In fact, all the varieties showed a rather high production poten-tial, forcing important cluster thinning on most of the varieties to reduce their yields. Summer was particularly hot and dry, with high temperatures from mid-December until the third week of March. The veraison started earlier than expected, as well as the harvest of the first batch of Merlot, which was picked on March 16th, two weeks earlier than usual. The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were then harvested between April 1st and May 13th, taking advantage of the progressive temperature decrease, especially at night, to maintain a great balance in the fruit between freshness and ripeness.

The whole harvest was particularly long, lasting for more than 10 weeks, until the last batch of Carmenere was brought in on May 26th.

HARVEST DATES

15/03/2015 to 26/05/2015VINTAGE BLEND

69 % Cabernet Sauvignon24 % Carmenère05 % Cabernet Franc02 % Petit Verdot

2015

ALMAVIVA©

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The 2014 growing season is characterized by a spring with low temperatures, and a summer with normal hot & dry condi-tions. The 2013 winter was exceptionally cold and dry (118mm vs 237mm of rain). The bud break was 10 days late and the dry weather followed over into springtime. Finally march brought normal conditions, but the fall came with a cold April. The grape lost early its vegetal flavors early and was technically ready to make wine, but it was important to wait for the aromatic and phenolic ripeness.

The ripening process was slow, because of the normal fall cha-racteristics: lower temperatures & shorter days. The cold nights of April helped preserve a good level of acidity and fruit expres-sion. The main challenge during the 2014 season was waiting to reach the desired phenolic maturity.

HARVEST DATES

11/03/2014 to 20/04/2014VINTAGE BLEND

48% Carmenère 31% Cabernet Sauvignon21% Merlot

2014

CLOS APALTA©

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