Thursday 21 July 2011

A glowing review for Aristos

Posted by Julian Campbell, Buyer
Award winning Master of Wine Peter Richards knows a thing or two about Chile. Extensive travelling (and tasting) through Chile's vineyard regions instilled in him a burning passion for the wines produced there and so it was no surprise that he returned to pen the Andre Simon short-listed book, Wines of Chile.  He is the Decanter World Wine Awards Chilean Regional Chair and together with his wife, fellow MW Susie Barrie, was awarded IWSC Wine and Spirits Communicator of the year in 2010.  Not content with being a very talented writer and broadcaster, he is also, perhaps most importantly, an exceptional taster. And having tasted most of what Chile has to offer it's exciting to see him sing the praises of a wine we tasted and loved immediately.

Quoting verbatim from the August edition of Decanter Peter wrote:

"One of Chile's newest, most exciting names is the result of an international collaboration between some reputed names. Vosne-Romanee producer Vicomte Louis-Michel Liger-Belair, of Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, works with noted Chilean terroir specialist Pedro Parra and maverick winemaker Francois Massoc to make just two Cabernets and a Chardonnay. The first vintages were sourced from the Calyptra vineyard, high in the Andean foothills in Coya in the eastern Cachapoal Valley. The Cabernet is refreshing and easy drinking in the Chilean Context, but it's the elegantly savoury, nutty and grippy Chardonnay, very much in a  Burgundian mould, that is the star. Given Liger-Belair's origins you might expect a Pinot Noir to be on the cards. But according to Parra, the team 'haven't found any in Chile good enough. Yet."