Since my first visit to Chile, back in January, I've been keeping a close eye on the country that has elbowed Italy, Spain and Germany aside to become Ireland's fourth most important wine source, according to the latest figures. It would be madness not to, since our feverish love-affair with Chilean wine shows no sign of quietening. So enamoured are we that Chile's share of the Irish market is 10 times what it was in 1990; double what it was in 1995. Based on recent performance, it's the Sonia O'Sullivan of wine producing countries, leaving all its rivals breathless and maybe a mite envious further back along the track.
It's all about drinkable plonk at a decent price, right? Well, no, not quite.
"We Chilean producers hate it when we hear people saying: `Oh, your wine is so cheap, it's such good value,' " groaned leading winemaker Aurelio Montes during his visit to Dublin last week.
"`We feel we have been held to very low price-points for far too long. It's time to show we can produce wines of really high quality, and that's an expensive business." There's no doubt Chile is determined to shake off its cheap 'n' cheerful image and climb up-market with all haste. Always a pioneer - as well as a damned good winemaker - Aurelio Montes simultaneously shocked and delighted consumers some years ago by producing Montes Alpha, a serious wine costing twice what we'd come to regard as the typical Chilean price. Last week saw the Irish launch of Montes Alpha M, a Bordeaux-style blend from a single vineyard in Colchagua on which he has had his eye since he was a student. If you should happen to get your hands on one of the few bottles of the 1996 vintage that have made their way to Ireland, it will cost you in the region of £35. Never mind. "There will be more of the 1997 and the 1997 will be much better - in a richer, fuller style," Montes promised, .
Soon, alongside M, we'll see other uberpremium Chileans. Sena, the cosseted offspring of the joint venture between Eduardo Chadwick of Errazuriz in Chile and California's Robert Mondavi - should be in Ireland by February, priced at around £70. Next to come will be Almaviva, from the combined forces of Conchay Toro and Baron Philippe de Rothschild - and you can bet that won't be cheap, either.
I think it's far too soon to say whether wines such as these are worth their price tags - not just because I haven't yet tasted them, but because even the makers of Chile's most luxurious bottles to date have admitted it's hard to predict how they will age - a necessary yardstick of quality in any wine costing as much as an ageworthy Burgundy or Bordeaux.
The really important thing is that, in reaching for the stars, Chile's top performers have had to make consistent improvements in both vineyard and cellar over the past few years. And, like the melting snow from the Andes trickling down among the vines, these advances have benefitted the whole, broad spectrum of Chilean wines, from the handful of prestige bottlings down through the reservas to the simpler styles.
It's in the middle ground that Chile's new obsession with quality has the most positive spin-off for wine lovers who enjoy a tasty drop but aren't prepared to fork out a small fortune for it. There are more and more attractive Chilean wines at £8£9 available in Ireland now - most (but not all) labelled "reserve" or "reserva" to indicate higher quality and some oak ageing. "We definitely see the future in reserva wines," said another recent Chilean visitor to Dublin, Patricio Middleton of Vina MontGras. "We produced 3,000 cases of reserva quality in 1995. This year it was 50,000 and it will keep on growing."
This dynamic company, set up by three partners just five years ago, has made a huge impact in an indecently short time, winning 24 international awards so far this year alone. It is based in Colchagua Valley, noted for producing soft red wines with easy tannins, and for my money its red wines, especially at reserva level, are well worth trying. The MontGras name (pronounced mont grass, by the way) is one to keep in the back of your mind when eating out, because it's in more restaurants than wine shops. Besides tasting wines from Montes and MontGras, I've been sampling some other recent arrivals in Ireland which are equally impressive red representatives of Chile's new-wave winemaking. All have that lushness that so characterises Chilean wine. As Aurelio Montes puts it, rather more poetically, "You can smell the sunshine! Our wines are friendly, smooth, bursting with fruit!" You'll find a selection of the ones I liked best.
New wave Chilean reds
Sierra Los Andes Cabernet/Merlot 1997 (Marks & Spencer, £6.50)
A new wine, made for M&S by Vina Carmen's whizz young winemaker, Alvaro Espinoza - and strangely enough I like it better than the Reserve version at £2 more. Soft, juicy and gently spicy - but you'll have to be patient. Due in Ireland in two or three weeks' time.
Caliterra Merlot 1996 (Superquinns, some SuperValus/Centras and many independent off-licences, usually £6.99).
I've mentioned the reborn Caliterra (now an ErrazurizMondavi joint venture) before - but not this succulent, peppery, minty Merlot. Caliterra's reservas, at around £9.99, are very polished, but this more basic wine takes the prize for value.
Montes Reserve Merlot 1997 (Vintry Rathgar, Deveneys Dundrum, Redmonds Ranelagh, some SuperValu and Cheers off-licences and other outlets, average price £7.59)
Not new to Ireland but new to me, and also newly labelled "reserve" to indicate an oak-aged wine occupying a higher rung on the quality ladder than the basic Villa Montes bottles. Merlot with a generous addition of Cabernet, it has super intensity, considering the price, and - unlike many Chilean reds - a nice savoury quality that makes it a natural partner for food.
Trio Merlot, Concha y Toro, 1996 (selected Superquinns, Mortons Ranelagh, Redmonds Ranelagh, McCormacks SCR, Deveneys Dundrum, Bolands Glasnevin, Bennetts Howth, Old Forge Wicklow, Geraghty Fine Wines, Carlow and many other outlets, £8.39-£8.99).
This recent arrival is a flexible friend - good with a wide variety of foods but also extremely quaffable without. See Bottle of the Week.
MontGras Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 1996 (Redmonds Ranelagh, McCabes Merrion, Carvills Camden Street, Jus de Vine Portmarnock, Fine Wines Limerick, Lynchs Glanmire, Collins SuperValu Carrigaline and some other off-licences, usually £8.99).
Liquorice and ripe blackcurrants with an overlay of herbs . . . but this harmonious wine has plenty of grip, too. Well worth the money.
Casa Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Merlot 1996 (Oddbins, £10.99).
One of Chile's most highly rated wines to date and a gold medal winner in this year's international wine challenge, this richly concentrated meal-in-a-glass style wine is made by top Bordeaux-based consultant Michel Rolland. Seriously sumptuous.