Why high-end Chilean wines are well worth the price tag

Chile is located on the Pacific side of the “Cono Sur” (southern cone) of the Americas; long and narrow its coastline stretches over 2,500 miles whilst its width at its widest part measures only 217 miles across.

The country is bordered by some significant climate-influencing factors on all sides: on the west, the chilly oceanic influence of the Pacific; on the east, the lofty Andean mountain range; on the north, the arid Atacama desert and on the south, the polar chill of Antarctica. 

This unique set of influences means that most of the wine-growing in Chile happens in the middle third of the country, where the vines are distant enough from the extreme heat and cold.

Often described as “viticulturalist’s paradise”, the country’s multiple wine regions are mostly “riverbed” areas; flood plains and run-offs of the major rivers that originate high in the Andes. 

Fed by glacial run-off that originates as snow, these rivers provide amazingly pure and clean water for vine irrigation before they empty into the Pacific.

Although “discovered” by Magellan in 1520, the next Europeans to reach Chile were the Spanish conquistadors who came down from Peru in search of gold nearly twenty years later.

The Spaniards may have been the first to set foot in the country, but Spain has had no lasting influence on what is planted today. The grape varieties that have made Chile famous — Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Carmenere are surprisingly all French.

Until its independence in 1810, Chile was a colony of Spain, managed politically and economically by aristocratic and wealthy mercantile families from the mother country. 

With strong emotional ties to the land of their birth, they would send their heirs back to Europe to be educated socially and academically, in a similar fashion to the Grand Tour undertaken by the English landed gentry. 

Vessels returning them to Chile would often depart from Bordeaux and the wealthy young heirs would pick up of some vines — the early 19th-century “duty-free” Toblerone equivalent — to take home and plant. 

Having established a rock-solid reputation for superb value-for-money wine, most people seem to not venture beyond Chilean wines at the mid-market price bracket; this is a huge mistake. 

With its enviable climactic position, low production costs and, in places, superb winemakers, I’d urge you to buy as expensive as you can for a real treat.

Here are some top-shelf Chilean wines to try:

Errauriz Max Reserva Cabernet – £14.99 at Majestic 

EQ Pinot Noir Matetic Vineyards – £25.99 from Hay Wines

Amelia Chardonnay Concha y Toro – £30.83 (per bottle in a case of 6) from Cru World Wines