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2022 Luis Felipe Edwards Macerao Orange Wine, Itata Valley

( £6.74 until December 3, 12%, Waitrose )

Orange wines have entered the mainstream in the last few years, which is good to see. This one from Luis Felipe Edwards comes from the Itata Valley in southern Chile, where dry farmed, bush-vine parcels of Moscatel de Alejandría are a local speciality. This spent three months on its skins during and after fermentation and has intriguing layers of quince, orange marmalade and dried apricot and a nip of tannic bitterness. Amazing value at the 25% off on six price.

BuyDrinking window: 2024-27Similar Wines: £5-£10, 90-94, Chile, White, Moscatel de Alejandría
93

2021 Cono Sur 20 Barrels Pinot Noir, San Antonio

( £18, 14%, Tesco )

Cono Sur makes a greater range of good Pinot Noirs than any other producer in the world, offering impressive value for money in the process. Like the bodega’s other higher end wines,  20 Barrels is now sourced from coastal San Antonio rather than the Casablanca Valley. Aged in a combination of foudres and partially new oak barrels, this is sappy, bight and well structured, with plum, black cherry and rasperry fruit flavours and a sheen of vanilla spice. Hard to beat under £20.

BuyDrinking window: 2024-30Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, Chile, Red, Pinot Noir

The Weight Of Wine

by Margaret Rand
What constitutes high alcohol now? In table wines, I mean; fortifieds haven’t changed. But I recall the horror when reds started hitting 14%. Then 14.5%. And now? 14% seems quite...
95

2022 Villard Grand Vin Le Pinot Noir, Casablanca Valley

( £21, 13.5%, The Wine Society )

The best Pinot Noir yet from Chilean-based Villard père and fils, Thierry and Charlie, this is the sort of thing that should have Burgundy lovers reaching for their wallets and purses. Fermented with 10% whole bunches and aged in 20% new wood, it’s sappy and intense, with a waft of vanilla spice, subtle reduction, raspberry and black cherry fruit and a thrilling mineral core.

BuyDrinking window: 2024-30Similar Wines: £20-25, 95-100, Chile, Red, Pinot Noir
90

2020 Tesco Finest Peumo Carmenère, Peumo, Cachapoal Valley

( £8.50, 14%, Tesco )

Something of a bargain within the Tesco range, this is a plush, engagingly scented Carmenère from Peumo, considered one of the best regions for the grape in Chile. Judiciously blend with 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, it’s appealingly unwooded, with flavours of rocket, dark chocolate and green pepper, supple tannins and enough acidity to freshen the finish.

BuyDrinking window: 2024-30Similar Wines: £5-£10, 90-94, Chile, Red, Carmenère

On Paragons And Icons

by Tim Atkin
My late friend Michael Cox, who ran Wines of Chile’s UK office for more than a decade, had a great line about so-called “icon wines”. “Is that one word or...
95

2020 Morandé Black Series Chardonnay, Malleco

( £11.99, 13%, Majestic )

Ricardo Baettig produces this stunning Chardonnay with grapes from two sources in Malleco – Baettig (owned by his brother, Pancho) and Kofkeche – both of whom grow the 95 clone. It’s a brilliant first release from Morandé, making the most of one of the most exciting cool climate regions in Chile right now. Chiselled, scented and refined, with effortless balance, concentration and focus, flinty minerality and a pure, tapering citrus and aromatic spice finish. Amazing value.

BuyDrinking window: 2023-30Similar Wines: £10-15, 95-100, Chile, White, Chardonnay
90

2021 Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile

( £6.50-£7.50, 13.5%, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose )

One of those mass-market wines that rarely, if ever, lets you down, this 26 million bottle blend from Chile’s biggest producer uses grapes from Maule, Rapel and the Maipo Valley. Subtly wooded, with classic blackcurrant pastille, mint and fresh herb flavours and a whisper of oak spices. Outstanding at the price.

BuyDrinking window: 2023-28Similar Wines: £5-£10, 90-94, Chile, Red, Cabernet Sauvignon
96

2020 Don Melchor, Maipo Valley

( £110.00, 14.6%, Cru World Wine, Hedonism, Tanners )

The 2020 release of Concha y Toro’s top Bordeaux red is something of a triumph over the demanding vintage conditions, which were the hottest and driest in Don Melchor’s thirty-four year history. Featuring a classic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% each of Merlot and Petit Verdot, it managed to sidestep the torrid conditions, thanks to a combination of early picking – three weeks to a month, depending on the parcel – and the talent and experience of long-term winemaker, Enrique Tirado. Deftly oaked in 71% new oak, it has alluring graphite and dried herb aromas, cassis, fig and red berry fruit, serious but not overwhelming tannins and more finesse and freshness in its youth than the 2017 with which Tirado rightly compares it.

BuyDrinking window: 2025-35Similar Wines: £100-110, 95-100, Chile, Red, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot
90

2021 Luis Felipe Edwards Macerao Naranjo Orange Wine, Itata Valley

( £8.99, 13.5%, Waitrose )

It’s good to see a well-made orange wine making it into the Chilean mainstream thanks to Luis Felipe Edwards. And this is definitely at the cleaner, less funky end of the spectrum. Macerated on skins for 90 days, it’s an unfiltered Moscatel de Alejandría from the undulating, spectacularly beautiful Itata Valley, with black tea, honey and orange zest flavours and bright, tangy acidity.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-24Similar Wines: £5-£10, 90, Chile, White, Moscatel de Alejandría
91

2020 The Society's Chilean Limarí Chardonnay, Limarí Valley

( £7.95, 13.5%, The Wine Society )

Chile is not as well known for Chardonnay as it is for Sauvignon Blanc, but it should be, given the quality of what’s being produced in places like Casablanca, Malleco and Limarí. This unoaked version from the country’s biggest winery, Concha y Toro, is ludicrously good value, with taut, tangy, chalky freshness, notes of lemongrass and melon and a creamy mid palate from time on its fermentation lees. Watch out, Chablis.

BuyDrinking window: 2021-24Similar Wines: £5-£10, 90-94, Chile, White, Chardonnay
92

2018 Tabalí Barranco Río Hurtado Viognier, Limarí Valley

( £14.50, 13.5%, The Wine Society )

I wouldn’t normally recommend a Viognier with a few years of bottle age – it’s a grape best consumed in its blossomy, intensely perfumed youth – but this unoaked example comes from a very special site in the Chilean Andes, located at 1,600 metres, and has improved over the last 12 months. There are still plenty of creamy ginger spice and apricot flavours on offer, but they’re balanced by stony freshness and minerality. Delicious.

BuyDrinking window: 2021-24Similar Wines: £10-15, 90-94, Chile, White, Viognier