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

The Wisdom Of Age

by Tim Atkin
Call it serendipity, call it fate, but there are times when events and conversations seem to align. You go for months without thinking about something and then it’s everywhere, filling...
91

2017 Carmen Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva, Maipo Valley

( £14, 13.5%, Tesco )

Carmen is among the oldest wineries in Chile, but has one of the most dynamic young winemakers in Emily Faulconer. This is a classic Maipo Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that has benefited from a few years in bottle but will age and develop for a while yet. Serious, structured and intense, it has appealing notes of bramble, eucalyptus and blackcurrant leaf, sinewy, savoury tannins, deftly handled oak and impressive freshness and acidity for a hot vintage.

BuyDrinking window: 2021-25Similar Wines: £10-15, 90-94, Chile, Red, Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine Hands

by Clare Tooley MW
“Take my hand, tenez, trust me, leap, I won’t let go.” A favourite memory in rain-soaked Chablis, flood waters rising, taking a supplier’s outstretched hand as his courtyard began to...
95

2018 De Martino Tres Volcanes Chardonnay, Malleco

( £21.99, 13.5%, Great Wine Co, Waitrose Cellar )

Chilean Chardonay is on a roll right now, especially when it’s from vineyards in the cooler areas of the country close to the Pacific or way down south, which is the case here. The brilliant Marcelo Retamal buys the grapes for this world-class white from Francisco Baettig’s increasingly famous vineyard in Malleco. There was a little rain during the growing season, so the wine has a little bit of  “noble rot” (botrytis) character, which adds a drizzle of honeyed complexity to its chiselled, racy, well-balanced palate, exhibiting flavours of cashew nut, citrus and wet stones. The oak is very understated, which is the case with all the De Martino wines.

BuyDrinking window: 2021-26Similar Wines: £20-25, 95-100, Chile, White, Chardonnay