Viña
Ventisquero, and their Apalta Vineyard, Colcghagua,
Chile
Exploring the diversity of Chile's Vineyards, Part 3

Apalta
Viña Ventisquero was founded in the late
1990s by Gonzalo Vial, owner of Chile’s leading fresh food
producer, AgroSuper. With a $2 billion business to his name, Gonzalo
isn’t short of cash, and doesn’t really know how to do things
small.
However, while Ventisquero is a big
winery, it represents just 2% of his total business interests. His
father was a farmer, with vineyards and chickens. Apparently, the
manure from the birds was used to fertilize the vines. Gonzalo
studied at university for just two years, and then returned home to
work with the chickens. With 12 brothers, it turned out there was no
space to work in the vineyard.
Gonzalo’s two passions are horses and
wine, although his biggest is (of course) horses (he’s Chilean),
and he’s apparently a bit of a cowboy. He’s a very private man,
though, and never gives interviews or travels to export markets to
sell his wine.
He brought his first land for vines in
1996, and planted from 1998–2000.
The first wines were released in 2000. Most of these vineyards are
in the Colchagua region, which sits between two transverse ranges of
mountains. It’s Chile’s largest fine wine area. Currently
production is 1.2 million cases, of which 85% are exported, largely
to the UK, USA and Brazil.
A significant portion of Ventisquero’s
offering is good quality commercial wine, sold in the UK under the
Yali name in supermarkets, and Ventisquero in independents and the
on-trade. These are good, tasty wines that deliver at these price
points, but there's not a great deal to say about them beyond this.
I'm a lot interested in the higher-end
offerings under the Grey, Vertice and Pangea labels. From Grey
upwards, consultant winemaking advice is provided by John Duval, the
Australian winemaker who for many years was custodian of Penfolds’
Grange. Pangea is actually a joint venture with John.

Chief
winemaker Felipe Tosso
We visited the jewel in Ventisquero’s
crown: the Roblerìa
vineyard in Colchagua’s Apalta subregion. Present were Felipe
Tosso (chief winemaker), Nicolás Kowalski (UK brand ambassador),
Alejandro Galas (winemaker) and Sergio Hormazabal (winemaker). We
were also joined later by famous terroir expert Dr Pedro Parra who
has been consulting for Ventisquero since 2006.

Pedro
Parra
Parra gave a long and interesting talk on terroir, with specific
reference to the work that has been done at Apalta. Ventisquero's
high end wines really do deliver, and I was impressed by the Grey
range. Pangea is also very good, although I would really like to see
just a little more freshness and definition, perhaps through picking
a little earlier. A bit of tannin in a young wine is nothing to be
afraid of.

THE
WINES
Viña Ventisquero Grey Chardonnay 2009
Casablanca Valley
From clay and granite soils. Nicely expressive mineral nose with
some citrus and toast notes. The palate is fresh with apple and
melon fruit. Intense fruit expression with some toasty notes.
Elegant, fresh, toasty and persistent. 92/100
Viña Ventisquero Herú 2008
Casablanca Valley
This is a Pinot Noir, made from the Davis Concha y Toro clone
vines planted 15 years ago. Fresh and nicely savoury with pure dark
cherry fruits and some spice and mineral notes, as well as a hint of
coffee oak. Fresh, mineral and savoury with good acidity, showing
freshness as well as fruit richness. 90/100
Viña Ventisquero Grey Merlot 2008 Apalta,
Colchagua Valley
This has 10% Syrah and 5% Carmenere in the blend. Sweet,
aromatic, gravelly and savoury with some mineral character on the
nose, as well as tar notes. The palate is concentrated and dense
with a strongly savoury character: gravel, minerals and lovely dark
fruits. Dense, pure, spicy and complex. Rich yet balanced. 93/100
Viña Ventisquero Grey Carménère 2008
Maipo Valley
This has 7.5% each of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon in it. Soils
are 2 m deep, with the top 1.5 m being clay silt and the rest more
gravelly. Ripe, lush, sweet and quite generous with lovely bold dark
fruit, and grainy, almost chalky tannins. Ripe and plush, but with
some seriousness. Stylish example of this variety. 91/100
Viña Ventisquero Grey Syrah 2008 Apalta,
Colchagua Valley
Sweet, lush, pure and ripe with lovely purity of sweet fruit.
Silky and lush yet retaining good definition. Mineral, salty edge to
the finish. Stylish with silky tannins; ripe but fine. 93/100
Viña Ventisquero Grey Cabernet Sauvignon
2008 Maipo Valley
7% Petit Verdot in this. Rich, lush blackcurrant and berry
fruits with some nice spiciness. Very ripe and sweet with some
lushness and jamminess. 88/100
Viña Ventisquero Vertice 2007 Apalta,
Colchagua Valley
A blend of Carmenere and Syrah. Attractive warm spicy nose with
a subtle herby, cedary edge to the dark fruits. The palate is lush
and sweet with ripeness and density. Soft and full with some
chalkiness, showing nice definition despite the sweetness. 91/100
Pangea 2004 Apalta, Colchagua Valley
95% Syrah, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The coolest year in a long
time. Fresh with a minerally chalky undercurrent to the restrained
blackberry fruit. Some elegance here: ripe but restrained. 90/100
Pangea 2005 Apalta, Colchagua Valley
95% Syrah, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. A normal year climatically.
Lush but elegant with lovely definition to the sweet black cherry
and berry fruit. Nice purity and elegance with good definition and
some hints of iodine. 93/100
Pangea 2006 Apalta, Colchagua Valley
100% Syrah. This was the first year that Pedro Parra began
mapping the Apalta terroir. It was almost a drought year, with some
temperature peaks in March. Ripe, spicy and a bit tarry with some
gravel notes under the sweet blackberry fruit. Stylish wine,
finishing meaty and quite firm. 92/100
Pangea 2007 Apalta, Colchagua Valley
100% Syrah. This was when mapping was carried out in proper
detail. It was a very dry year but not a particularly warm one.
Lush, sweet, pure nose with nice blackberry fruit and some floral
notes. Really elegant and smooth on the palate with lovely fruit and
some grainy structure. Ripe yet expressive. 94/100
Pangea 2008 Apalta, Colchagua Valley
100% Syrah. Quite a rainy winter followed by a warm, dry summer.
A warm vintage. Taut, dense, ripe, sweet blackberry and blackcurrant
fruit with smooth but pronounced tannins. An attractive youthful
wine with good purity and some elegance to the dark fruits. Very
promising. 93/100

We also tried a couple of wines from a
new project, located in Huasco in the Attacama desert, in the far
north of the country. This is a very cool site 22 km from the coast.
Ramirana Sauvignon Blanc 2010 Valle
del Huasco
13% alcohol. Fresh, green menthoxypyrazine nose is quite pure,
with some fresh tropical fruit notes. The palate is fresh and pure
with a hint of spiciness. Delicate and precise. 91/100
Syrah 2010 Valle del Huasco (barrel
sample)
Very fresh and peppery. Bright, herbal and minty with a hint of
balsamic character. The palate is light, elegant and expressive with
lovely purity of fruit. Expressive, elegant and pure with a sweet
fruit profile. This could be very good indeed: time will tell.
91–94/100
CHILE'S
DIVERSITY
Part
1, Dos Andes: Veranda and Agustinos, Bio Bio
Part
2, Viña Leyda, Leyda
Part
3, Viña Ventisquero, Apalta
Part
4, Viña Tabalí, Limarí
Part
5, Casas del Bosque, Casablanca
Part
6, Viña Falernia/Mayu, Elqui
See
also:
Visiting
Chile's wine regions (a series from a visit in 2008)
Published
01/12
Wines tasted 12/10
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