Another glorious day beckoned as we set off on our final day of the Chile tour – destination Casablanca Valley.
This valley was “discovered” by Chilean wine legend Pablo Morande who suggested in 1980 to Concha y Toro that they should plant vines there.
When they declined he went ahead anyway and created a massive success and developed the concept of Chilean cool climate winemaking.
The bright sunshine soon gave way to the conditions that are often associated with Casablanca Valley – overcast and a cool Pacific breeze.
Emi
liana vineyards is a showcase for the estate – no winemaking here – only vineyards and Felipe Moreira gave us fascinating walk around the vineyards, introduced us to the chickens and alpacas that they use for keeping vineyards pests at bay as well as producing plenty of organic compost.
A fantastic wine tasting ensued as we tasted through four tiers of production. The Adobe range is entry level but extremely well made. Novas is a notch up in quality followed by the Signos de Origen limited production range. Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and various red blends showed extremely well. The final two wines we tasted were the jewels in the crown – Coyam and Ge. Superb reds with great ageing potential – they really showed the potential and ability for top Chilean reds to compete at the highest level.
Just round the corner from Emiliana is a small, private estate owned by Pablo Morande – or Don Pablo as he is called out of the great respect he commands.
The estate is called Bodegas RE and makes a mere 45000 bottles per year – which is tiny by Chilean standards. This is a quirky, fun place that challenges the senses and has allowed Don Pablo to experiment on many levels. Aside from the balsamic vinegar, fruit liqueurs, olive oil and aged fruit sauces the wines were fascinating too! It was the first time any of us had tasted Chardonnoir – a white made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (aside from all the Champagne and Methode TRaditionelle we drink) : Pinotel – a blend of Pinot Noir and Moscatel – another fascinating first.
Bernadetta gave us ainsightful tour and then we settled down for lunch. Ceviche, salmon and more beef – despite these being a regular feature on various lunch menus I have been impressed by the diversity and high quality of the cuisine. Cabergnan (Cabernet and Carignan) was tasted and we finished off with a selection of fruit liqueurs and a Chilean take on Eton mess. Wonderful – truly wonderful.
Our final night was at Aqui Esta Coco – one of Chile’s best restaurants and renowned for its seafood.
Despite lunch finishing at 4pm we all seemed to find the energy and appetite for a choice of scallops, salmon, ceviche, conger eel, seabass – and for the non-meat eaters a bit of slow cooked Patagonian lamb.
A delightful end to what has been a brilliant tour!