This Week's Must-Try Wines from Vinous

Welcome to this week's Must-Try Wines from Vinous! Each week we compile a list of wines from the Vinous database that you need to add to your wine wish list. With all the various regions, producers, and grapes, no week will be the same! All of the wines listed in this feature are available for purchase on Banquet . This week's must-try wines are from Joaquín Hidalgo’s article, Chile in Transition . Enjoy an excerpt from this article and reviews below! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “Chile is a country experiencing major upheavals in the wine scene. This report bears witness to a wide range of regions, beyond Maipo, where new flavor palates are emerging and further identifies the current trends in classic varieties and the challenges producers face today. The result, following a tasting of 800 wines, is an increasingly complex wine map, rich in different styles, varieties and flavors. BETTER HORIZONS Two-thousand twenty-one marked the resurgence of Chile as a major player in the US wine market. Following a cycle of falling sales, last year the country’s wines reached third place among wine importers by volume, behind Italy and France. Although it’s true that the context was favorable: fewer wines came from New Zealand and changes to import duties helped, these weren’t the only reasons. Nielsen data also reveals growth in wines priced at over $50 with an above average rise in the off-premise category of 52% in 2021. Meanwhile, the handful of wines priced at over $100 saw a jump of 67%. Although the growth comes from a small base, the qualitative data found in this report confirms that wines in these segments are robust in Chile right now. To conclude, among the 800 bottles featured in this report there are a handful that took my breath away and around a hundred about which I was very enthusiastic. A few were in the $15 range and a few more in the $20, after which the quality really begins to improve on the Chilean wine scene. But where Chile is often seen as having a somewhat monotonous (or Maipo-centric) output, the real situation right now is much richer with far greater diversity. Given the general theme of transformation, it won’t be a surprise if some of the incipient trends identified here blossom and thrive in the medium term. But the most important trend, as I see it at least, is cultural: producers are increasingly proud of their wines and the ideas that shaped them. Discovering them is an eminently worthwhile journey for intrepid drinkers.” --Joaquín Hidalgo, Chile in Transition, June 2022 1. 2019 Baron Philippe De Rothschild Chile Baronesa P. 2. 2018 Clos Apalta 3. 2018 Clos Apalta Le Petit Clos 4. 2015 Cousiño Macul Blend Finis Terrae 5. 2018 Cousiño Macul Cabernet Sauvignon Antiguas Reservas