Chile's very reliable, isn't it? There's a comment I've heard far more times than I have fingers and toes to count on. And I'm still not sure what the answer is - either to the question, or to Chile's problem of being dubbed a very reliable source of wine.
"Reliable" is one of those deadening words which makes me think of the sort of men who'd rather pay the ESB bill 10 times over than buy the teeniest bottle of champagne. It suggests usefulness, worthiness - not tongue-hanging-out desire. Visiting Chile last year, I remember thinking that if all the wines I'd encountered had been lined up on the final day for a monster blind tasting, my humiliation would have been complete. So similar did so many of them taste that I'd never have been able to identify which winery made which. I'd even have confused some of the Cabernets with the Merlots. But there are signs that Chile doesn't want to be the Miss Goody-Two-Shoes of the wine world, safe but boring. In the past year or so, there's been a serious push towards higher quality wines with more distinctive flavours - most of them reservas in the £8.99-£10.99 bracket, and some much costlier than that.
Dashing through Dublin recently on their way to host a seminar in London, Ed Flaherty and Pedro Izquierdo, winemaker and viticulturalist at the well known winery Errazuriz, offered to be personal tutors on the new regional designations cropping up on Chilean labels. I arrived with a scribbled sketch map of Chile's wine regions, stretching in a line down between the Andes and the sea like a string of native beads. Here's the lowdown, starting at the top.
Aconcagua: Chile's most northerly region, producing wine for over a century but now better known for table fruit. The main players, Errazuriz and Vina Gracia, represent both traditions - the first established in the 1870s, the second a new winery set up by a wealthy fruit family. Warmer than Bordeaux, cooler than Tuscany or Napa, with very low rainfall and a long ripening season, the Aconcagua benefits from the wind that's drawn through the narrow valley between a 7,000metre mountain and the sea, since air movement helps to ensure healthy grapes. Cabernet stars. Merlot/Carmenere does well. Early Syrah and Sangiovese looking good. "But our Nebbiolo's a disaster," says Ed Flaherty with commendable candour.
Casablanca: Much-hyped promised land for whites - the cool, south-west extension of the Aconcagua, close to the sea. "I'm fully convinced it's the top wine region for Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer," says Pedro Izquierdo. "The reason nobody's talking about it any more is that nobody's talking about white wines any more." Too many Chardonnay vines planted? "Yes, and too much medical hype about red wine. Look at Asia - it makes no sense at all. They're drinking reds like crazy and they eat raw fish. How can Syrah and sushi be healthy? If they don't taste good together, how can your stomach feel right?" The man has a point.
Maipo: The heartland of Chilean wine - starting within Santiago's city limits. Many of the oldest and/or best known companies are here - Santa Rita, Cousino Macul, Santa Carolina, Underraga, Canepa, Carmen. We're unlikely to see many more, given the high price of land and lack of space for development. Very good quality Cabernet and Merlot, also probably the best Chardonnay after Casablanca, and some Semillon from old vineyards.
Rapel: Where a lot of the new action is; four valleys - Colchagua, Cachapoal, Tinguiririca (try saying that after a few glasses) and Chimbarongo - converging into one provide a great many vineyard sites with distinctive features. "Rapel produces wines which taste completely different from those in the rest of Chile," says Ed Flaherty. Cabernet and Syrah probably best, but still too early to tell. Good producers include MontGras (see below), Torreon de Paredes, Caliterra, Luis Felipe Edwards and Casa Lapostolle.
Curico: From here south lies 80 per cent of Chile's total vineyard acreage. Pretty warm, except close to the coast. Fruitful for Carmenere/Merlot and the riper style of Sauvignon Blanc, also good for Semillon. Montes, San Pedro and Valdivieso are among the names that have put Curico on the map. There will be more.
Maule: Hotter, wetter and vast in scale, it nevertheless has some potential for both red and white wines of decent quality. Carta Vieja and Domaine Oriental are familiar names.
Itata and Bio-Bio: Together known as Sur - the southernmost region, biggest, hottest, wettest. "It's too wet to cash in on Chile's biggest advantage, the lack of rain," says Izquierdo. Traditionally a source of bulk wine (the native Pais grape dominates), it is gradually being replanted with noble varieties, notably Cabernet and Chardonnay. And, believe it or not, finicky Pinot Noir! See below.