Liz Sagues, along with a bevy of other experienced communicators and sommeliers, participates in a fascinating tasting hosted by fellow CWW member Tim Atkin MW and Ventisquero winemaker Felipe Tosso, with a scientist also on hand, to explore whether Chilean terroir can in fact be tasted.
Is terroir tosh? That, essentially, was the question at 67 Pall Mall in London on 21st November. More specifically, the talk and blind tasting session asked Can you taste Chilean terroir? The result, more than two hours and 16 wines later was, not unexpectedly, inconclusive. Along the way, though, the discussion and wine experience were truly stimulating. Hosts Tim Atkin MW (CWW member and much-respected wine communicator) and Felipe Tosso (head winemaker at Ventisquero since 2001) set up four wine flights, one from each of four specific soil types – alluvium, clay, granite and limestone. Two of the three wines in each flight were Chilean, the third a ringer from somewhere else in the wine world.
The object was to discover if those attending, a bevy of experienced communicators and sommeliers, could first identify which flight was from which soil type and then, within each flight, which was the non-Chilean wine. Did anyone score 100%? There was no formal assessment, just admission – if one dared – of right or wrong. And on the shows of hands, the majorities certainly didn’t always tie in with what the crib sheet later revealed. But before the tasting and the identification of places and producers came some preliminary discussion. Tim, arguing from the viewpoint of a non-scientist (best scientific achievement an O-Level grade C –‘a fluke’), emphasised that terroir remained a very complex subject, with the science of it still being explored.
Felipe echoed that from his own hands-on experience of making wine worldwide, including in extreme places: the most northerly commercial vineyard in Chile and the country’s – and the world’s – southernmost. “The more I taste, the more I meet winemakers, the more confusing it becomes.”
Then over to the scientist, Professor Alex Maltman, emeritus professor of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University and acknowledged expert on geology and wine, to debunk many of the terroir myths. Those who suggest they can ‘taste the soil’ in a wine never explain how that works, he pointed out. “There are a whole series of disconnects between what’s in the soil and what’s in the wine,” he insisted.
Plants, he continued, take up what they need for optimum growth, irrespective of the soil they grow in. Most nutrients are absorbed from near-surface soil, not from stones or deep bedrock. If vines do absorb minerals from the soil, the amounts are far too small to be tasted – and even if they could be, they would all be pretty tasteless anyway. And so much more affects the grape juice en route to and in the winery.
The role of soil in wine flavours is wildly exaggerated, he concluded. More relevant than minerals in soils are organic compounds there. Plus the water that helps the vines grow. But there remains the fact that wines from sites very, very close to each other do taste different. A whole raft of other factors are involved, often highly technical or invisible and hence generally are ignored.
Climate is among the most important, especially as more and more precise identification of tiny but relevant differences within very small areas, even single vineyards, has become possible. “Unless we collect data it will still ‘all be down to the soil’,” he predicted.
Then it was on to the tasting. Flight one brought two whites and a red, pretty obviously Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. That the soil was limestone was widely recognised (maybe by predisposition, given the grape choice, suggested one taster). But not everyone realised that white number two was a warm-vintage Chablis.
From here, through the next three flights, only red wines were poured. and everything became much more complicated. Flight two’s wines were, most tasters thought – rightly – from granite, their style linear and not over-aggressive. But grapes and place? One Pinot Noir, two Syrahs, the last from South Africa.
So clay and alluvium were left. I got them wrong, but was in good company. In flight three, from clay, Carménère appeared alone and blended, but I reckon anyone who correctly identified the ringer as an Italian Cabernet Sauvignon was probably making a lucky guess.
The wines from alluvium included one obvious Carménère, and another Carménère blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The ringer (easier to spot this time) was a fine Margaret River Cabernet-Merlot.
Tim tried, largely unsuccessfully, to draw out discussion on whether the different soils led to similarities in the structure, mouthfeel and balance of the wines from them, while Alex threw in some more wobblies, including whether stones of different origin in alluvium, for example, could have any bearing on the wines. However much we succeeded or failed in the identification, and whether or not we thought we could ‘taste the soil’, there was absolute agreement that the wines were impressive, and that those from Chile (all Ventisquero) held their own very worthily indeed against the smart ringers. (For the full list, see the end of this article).
There were three more Chilean wines to conclude a fascinating morning, but this time everyone knew what they were: the 2023 Kosten trio from Chile Chico, Patagonia, latitude 46.3 south – the world’s most southerly vineyard. The first vines were planted on a trial basis in 2013, more Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir followed in 2018 (after a year growing before planting). With the 2021 grapes consumed by birds and the learning curve continuing the following year, 2023 is the first proper vintage.
The site is remote and unlike any other vineyard location. “It’s like doing wine on another planet,’ said Felipe. The soil is deep sand, from basalt, with lots of stones, and water comes from glaciers and winter snows. Chile Chico is quite dry and chilly, with 15 hours of sunshine a day in March, just before the harvest. Ventisquero chose to name the wines Kosten after Patagonia’s notoriously strong wind.
As Tim emphasised, these high acid/low alcohol wines need time, and that showed particularly on the Chardonnay. All three had elegance, purity, length and great potential – the fruit concentration on the Pinot Noir was particularly impressive and very appealing. With low yields and high production costs – fruit is currently transported by truck, ferry and plane to Ventisquero’s winery way to the north – they will never be cheap. Only 500 bottles of each have been made of this vintage, and Felipe estimated a price of £100 upward when they reach the UK next February or March.
A big thank-you is due to Emma Wellings PR and the 67 Pall Mall staff for efficient organisation of a very special event, and to Ventisquero and the speakers.
The wines in the blind tasting (Chileans all from Ventisquero)
Flight 1 (limestone): Tara Atacama Chardonnay 2021, Domaine Vrignaud Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume 2022, Tara Atacama Pinot Noir 2021
Flight 2 (granite): Herú Pinot Noir 2022, Pangea 2018, Mullineux Single Terroir `Granite` Swartland Syrah 2021
Flight 3 (clay): Vertice Carménère/Syrah 2021, Isole e Olena `Collezione Privata` Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 IGT Toscana, Obliqua Carménère 2020
Flight 4 (alluvium): Cullen `Diana Madeline` Wilyabrup 2022, Grey Single Block Carménère 2021, Enclave Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Photos provided by Ventisquero: Chile Chico vineyard; Winemaker Felipe Tosso