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1999
1999 is a low wine production year in Chile. Yields in the vineyard are down 30 to 50% on the record 1998 vintage. These low yields are the results of the cool, wet "El Niño" spring of 1997 interfered with induction (fruitful buds), as well as the very dry winter and spring of 1998. This holds for almost all varieties in almost all regions of Chile.
El Descanso Estate - Curicó
We started the 1999 harvest in Curicó with our Sauvignon Blanc grapes from the El Descanso Estate. The wines have grassy, apple and dried flower flavours, with better acidities and lower alcohols than 1998. Our Merlot from El Descanso has its classical herbal blackberry and coffee flavours with deep color.
La Escultura Estate - Casablanca
In the Casablanca Valley, the Sauvignon Blanc produced green apple, pear and grassy notes with bright acidity. Chardonnays have golden apple, lemon, ginger, tropical and bubblegum characters. The Wild Ferment Chardonnay lots have beautiful notes of toasted bread and tropical fruit. Finally, we harvested Pinot Noir from four different vineyards in the Casablanca Valley.
Don Maximiano Estate - Aconcagua
The harvest in the Aconcagua Valley was late this year, with ripe potential alcohol and ripe jammy flavours. The drought conditions combined with late picking seem to have lowered the nutrients in the must, nutrients that are critical for completing fermentation. Some red fermentations have taken almost four weeks to go dry. The new wines have some of the most concentrated tannins and fruit flavours ever seen in Chile.
As for our Syrah, we believe we have finally unleashed the beast. Boysenberry, blackberry, spice, leather and earthy flavours, together with mouth?filling ripe tannins, will make this one of the wines to look for in 1999. The Merlot from the Don Maximiano vineyard has lovely blackberry fruit and is silky in texture. The Cabernets from Don Maximiano are elegant, with dried cherry and berry flavours. These wines are very dense in texture with a ripe, somewhat astringent mouth feel.
The 1999 vintage in Chile will be remembered as a waiting game ? waiting for the flavours and tannins to ripen, so harvest could be started, waiting for the fermentations to go dry, so the final result of our work could be tasted. But, I believe the 1999 Errazuriz wines will be worth the wait.
Edward Flaherty
Winemaker
Viña Errazuriz
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