WTN: Best Chilean white I've ever had

[Jenise]

Dropped in on a local wine store yesterday and was given a taste of a 2004 Miguel Torres blend of, get this, gewurztraminer and riesling. The distributor is closing it out and he's selling it for around $5/bottle. STEAL! I don't know what I'd have guess it is made out of if I'd been served the wine blind because it didn't show the character of either grape, rather the two blended harmoniously into what tasted like a new grape all its own. Served at cool room temperature, it has an exotic (but not heavy) nose of white flower and mild citrus with bright green melon, complex citrus and a bit of cilantro on the palate. Good, lingering finish with no RS. No white I've had from Chile comes anywhere close to this for character or value.

Have to look out for that one Jenise. The Grill is featuring Torres this month, the cab sells very well. I also saw a couple of vineyard Chardonnays the other day here in town. I think this winery is on the up-and-up these days.

I've seen that that wine and the Torres Spanish Riesling in every close-out bin in town. Torres must be having a hard go of it. I assume the armies of competition in Spanish wine these days isn't exactly doing wonders for the few established wineries that used to be the only option. I'll pick one up next time I trip over a bottle !


Prost!
Bill

Thanks Jenise: I was recently surprised by an Undurraga Gewurz from Chile also. At 8€ or so, it's a bargain by Finnish standards and a very nice wine. Even I liked it, though I'm not usually a fan of Gewurz. I hope we'll be seeing more such bargain whites soon....

[Jenise]

Otto, I'm not usually a gewurz fan either, let alone a Chilean fan. I just plain don't buy those wines. If this proprietor hadn't poured it for me, I'd have never gone there on my own.

Dropped in on a local wine store yesterday and was given a taste of a 2004 Miguel Torres blend of, get this, gewurztraminer and riesling.

They do something similar with the Esmeralda from Catalonia - a blend of muscat and gewurztraminer!!

Are you seeing Torres wines with screwcaps. We see them here (on Esmeralda and Sangre de Toro at least), but not sure if it's a special bottle run for our market. The Torres website bottle shots indicate cork.

Dropped in on a local wine store yesterday and was given a taste of a 2004 Miguel Torres blend of, get this, gewurztraminer and riesling.

They do something similar with the Esmeralda from Catalonia - a blend of muscat and gewurztraminer!!

I have had the Esmeralda Sue, and found it to be at least drinkable, I would prefer it cold and on a hot summer day. The Viná Sol is 100% parelleda, where the Gran Viná Sol is called chardonnay, but is really a blend of chardonnay and parelleda. (sp) Both Viná Sol wines sell here for about $11 and for that I would just as soon pass them by...at least at this time. I believe the Esmeralda is a couple dollars less, and is is definitely a nice summer sipper.

[Jenise]

Sue, yes, this Chilean Torres is a screw cap. Love them (on white wines anyway).

i certainly think that white is what chile does best. there was a book published in the 50's called A Guide To Good Wine - the only two non european wines mentioned were constantia from s. africa and riesling from chile. that seems so odd today.

[Jenise]

i certainly think that white is what chile does best.

Interesting comment. Do you see that many above the Carmen chardonnay level? I don't; perhaps only the Montes and an obscure $40 Sauv Blanc I ran into at a tasting in Canada. Good wine, but I had trouble taking it seriously at that price.

i think the best are also relatively inexpensive. more expensive usually means more oak - not my thing. i do like those aromatic wines includign the vina esmeralda. just had a bottle the other day - fun stuff.

I can support the assertion abour Riesling. Recently had some vintages of Cousino-Macul Chilean Riesling and it was damned impressive stuff---pretty clearly new world, but managed to hold its own nonetheless within a panel of German, Austrian, Australian, Italian, Michigan, Finger Lakes, Okanagan, Washington and California Rieslings.

I know C-M is most renowned for their tradtional Cab Sauvs, but, trust me, they make a pretty good Riesling as well.

[Jenise]

more expensive usually means more oak - not my thing

Like Montes chardonnays? I agree. The Sauv Blanc I mentioned was nothing like that--but man, $40? Tough sell when the same money buys some of the great sure-thing whites of the world. I know with that pricing they're attempting to say, "we're just like them", but it takes more than price to level the playing field.

Hoke, does your company handle Cousino-Macul, and will they be bringing that wine in, or are they already? I know they've got clients down there, I ran into a group of your reps in Santiago.

[Jenise]

I so liked this wine when I tasted it in the shop, I went back and picked up a few bottles, of which I've opened two. In the first, gone were the white flowers and pale color. The wine was deeper yellow and had a bit of cheese on the nose. Seemed much riper than the taste I remembered. Last night we opened another bottle: the nose was quite pleasant but again it was totally unlike the first two, smelling of Squirt soda pop and cucumber. Which was quite pleasant, actually, just rather unlike either of the first two.

Very strange bottle variation: each so different, and yet each acceptable. Can't recall experiencing anything like this.