Wine Club: French Varieties in South America!
South America has a long and rich tradition of winemaking. Many outside regions have played a role in shaping the wine landscape we see there today. Still more traditions, techniques, and varietals have evolved on the continent itself during its nearly 500 years of wine production. With this Wine Club, we want to zero in on a nation that has played an influential role: France.
French grapes, winemaking techniques, and styles have influenced the world over. It is exactly this expertise, built on centuries of making excellent wine, that continues to draw French winemakers, enologists, vintners, investors, and consultants to South America.
The connection between France and Chile has been strong since the early 19th century. After Chilean independence, landowners built enough stability and wealth to start traveling back and forth from Europe. They brought many things back with them, including an appreciation for French wine. To satisfy this demand, Chilean authorities invited French wine specialists to help kick start growing French varietals. This led to the founding of the Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura 1838, then the Quinta Normal de Santiago in 1841. The latter was modelled on the École Normale Supérieure in Paris to train local farmers. By the 1850s, the two most important grapes today in South America - Carménère and Malbec - had already taken hold.
In the 1980s, a renaissance began of French talent flocking to Chile. This trend continues to this day, and has spread to other regions of South America. The land in Chile, notably in the key regions of Maipo, Colchagua, and Casablanca, has many similarities with Bordeaux (Maipo, Colchagua) and Burgundy (Casablanca). In fact, not only do these regions have similarities to their French counterparts, they have many advantages.
Maipo and Colchagua both have average temperatures slightly above Bordeaux, but have much more consistent climates vintage to vintage. Each decade brings fewer overly hot, overly cold, or overly wet years. The soil in both these valleys also has similarities with their French counterpart, with exact terroir unique to themselves.
Like Burgundy, Casablanca has a cooler climate and fog coverage, so it makes a wonderful home for Pinot Noir. Vintages are more consistent, and inclement weather or extreme temperatures in either direction happen infrequently. The Pacific ocean, much like in Northern California, offers a level of climate consistency that continental Burgundy lacks.
Another huge advantage for Chile, and South America in general: less rules, so they can be more creative! France has centuries worth of regulations that often stifle forward thinking winemakers. The ability to plant what they want, where they want, and experiment with different techniques, was and remains a big draw for French winemakers.
In Argentina, the French influence is a little more subtle, yet massively important. While Italian traditions and techniques play a more overt role, never forget that the grape we all know Argentina for originally hails from Cahors, France. And increasingly, as you’ll see with the white we chose for Wine Club, new grapes are coming onto the scene, many of them originally from the Rhone Valley. We all need to thank the French for their work to spread wine throughout the world, as well as to recognize that in South America, they have found their oasis!
The Wines:
Finca La Escarcha Marsanne-Rousanne-Viognier Blend 2017 - Mendoza, Argentina
We love to see the grape offerings from Mendoza continue to diversify, which is why we picked this wine. While you’ll often find a blend like this in Rhone itself, it’s far from common. When thinking of white French varietals, generally the varietals originally from Burgundy (Chardonnay), Bordeaux (Semillon) and Loire (Sauvignon Blanc) get the most press. You know us, we love finding lesser known grapes that surprise us. This isn’t the first time we’ve covered Rhone grape based wines from Argentina, after all!
Villard 46% Syrah, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petite Syrah, 4% Merlot Blend 2018 - Casablanca and Maipo, Chile
If you like laying wine down, we suggest you pop this bottle open, enjoy it with a nice grilled or roasted meal, and then get a few more and see how it ages. As amazing as it is now, we have a feeling that in 6 to 8 years, this wine will mature into something sublime. A hybrid of Rhone and Bordeaux grapes from a vineyard in Maipo, and another in Casablanca, this bold red offers a new layer of flavor and aroma with each sip and sniff. Savory and spicy base notes support incredible dark fruits, and the structure is truly something to behold. A masterpiece, and exactly the type of wine we take pride in bringing to your attention through Wine Club!