South America Mixed Cases
Introducing 3 new Mixed Cases of wines from South America!
Our Explorer’s Cases are designed to showcase and introduce a country, region, style or grape variety in 6 bottles. While our 3 bottle Snapshot Cases are there to give you a bit more of an in depth insight and comparison.
South America 'Essentials' Snapshot Case
A 3 bottle Snapshot Case exploring 'classic' examples of South American wines.
Our Snapshot Case of South American 'Essentials' gives a great overview of the mainstream grape varieties that South America has to offer.
Starting off in Chile, we have a striking blackcurrant and herby example of high altitude Chilean Carmenere (a grape which Chile has claimed as its own). Staying in Chile we also have a carefully oaked and minerally Chilean Chardonnay. These grapes come from Aconcagua valley vineyards near the Pacific coast so benefit from the cooling breezes which give the grapes their crisp acidity.
Popping just over the border into Argentina now, we've got an inviting and elegant unoaked Argentina Malbec from the Tupungato sub-region of Mendoza. The vineyards of the Tupungato are among the most elevated in Mendoza's Uco Valley and are great for producing the fresher, slightly lighter, version of Malbec that the guys at Bodega Atamisque are aiming for.
So learn and discover the 'Essential' wines of South America with our 3 bottle Essentials Snapshot Case.
South America 'Adventurous' Snapshot Case
A 3 bottle Snapshot Case exploring 'adventurous' examples of South American wines. Our Snapshot Case of South American 'Adventurous' wines gives a great overview of the not so mainstream grape varieties that South America has to offer.
Starting off in Argentina we have a bright and aromatic organic red from Patagonia in the dry south of Argentina. Trousseau is not a widely seen variety these days. It originates in the French Jura region and is also known as Bastardo when grown in Portugal. It makes quite perfumed wines and this example from the arid pampas of Patagonia exemplifies this in this young and wonderfully bright quaffer.
Remaining in Argentina, we have a crunchy red from the far northern region of Salta. Vallisto is based in the northern, high altitude Salta region of Argentina and make some very interesting wines from the unique soils and climate of the area. This wine is made from the Criolla Chica grape variety which has been growing in Argentina since missionary settlers first arrived here in the 16th Century. It's known by different names in different countries and it's as 'Pais' in Chile that it's more widely known. The vineyards for this were first planted in 1898 and are at 2600m above sea level. It's all hand-picked and sorted and no oak is used in its maturation.
Moving now to the opposite side of South America, to Uruguay we've got a rich, spicy and multilayered South American red. In terms of output, Uruguay is some way behind its South American neighbours and certainly not as well known, but it's an up and coming wine producing country with good vineyard sites and some talented winemakers. The Pisano family are a long-standing producer and their wines really exemplify the quality from here.
So learn and discover the 'Adventurous' wines of South America with our 3 bottle Snapshot Case.
South America Explorer's Case
A journey of discovery through the wines and regions of South America.
A 6 bottle Mixed Case containing 6 different South American wines, 2 white and 4 red.
South America has actually been producing wine for much longer than you might think, since the 1500s. The wine made back then wasn't very good, and that's putting it nicely. It was the Franciscan Monks that planted Mission grapes to make wine for religious purposes. This then travelled through Peru into Chile and finally into Argentina. It was in the 1800s where Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere were planted and gave South America the leg-up to make the exceptional wine that we know and love today. Our Explorer's Case showcases what this wonderfully diverse and exciting wine-producing region has to offer. Let us take you on a tour
Starting our journey in Chile we have a big Chilean blend of Malbec and Carmenere. This is a wine that blends Argentina's favourite grape with that of Chile in a 60/40 proportion in favour of Malbec. This winery was established in 1996 as a joint venture between the families of Robert Mondavi and Vina Errazuriz. In January 2004 Vina Errazuriz became sole owners of Caliterra, at the heart of which is the impressive 1000ha Caliterra Estate situated in the heart of Chile’s Colchagua Valley.
Sticking in Chile and in reach of the Colchagua valley we move onto an organic, fruity and rounded Chilean Pinot Noir from the Bio Bio Valley and a complex and layered organic white blend from Chile's Casablanca valley. Voted by Wines of Chile as 'Winery of the Year 2016', Emiliana are one of Chile's most exciting producers and pioneers in organic and biodynamic winemaking. The enterprise was started back in 1986 by Rafael and Jose Guilisasti and since 2000 the esteemed winemaker, Alvaro Espinoza has also been closely involved in the project. They produce award-winning wines from almost 1,000 hectares of vineyards in prime sites including Casablanca, Maipo, Cachapoal, Colchagua and Bio Bio.
Over the border, to Argentina, we have a concentrated, aromatic and organic Argentinian red made with a bit of Italian influence. Masi Tupungato is an offshoot of the well-known Amarone specialist Masi in the Veneto. They established this, their sustainably run, organic Argentinian estate, to make wines that combine the best aspects of Argentina's climate and soils with some of the winemaking techniques of the Veneto. Also from Argentina, we have an elegant and fruity example of Argentina's main white grape variety from the Northern province of Salta. The high altitude vineyards of Salta's Calchqui Valley give a large temperature difference between day and night which leads to intense flavour accumulation in the fruit. Bodega Colome was established in 1831 and is not only the oldest working winery in Argentina, but it’s also the owner of the world's highest vineyard. The winery is located in the far north of Argentina in the Upper Calchaqui Valley and is thought to have been founded by the Spanish Governor of Salta, Nicolas Severo de Isasmendi y Scholar.
Jumping across to the opposite side of South America we now visit Uruguay with a rich, spicy and multilayered South American red. In terms of output, Uruguay is some way behind its South American neighbours Chile and Argentina and certainly not so well known, but it's an up and coming wine producing country with good vineyard sites and some talented winemakers. The Pisano family are a long-standing producer and their wines really exemplify the quality coming from here. The Pisano family vineyards are currently run by the fourth generation of the family. Theirs is not a huge business and less than 30,000 cases are produced annually across quite a wide range of wines. They follow biodynamic principles in the vineyard and cultivate low yielding, high-density vines and they 'green' harvest where necessary in order to achieve this.
So discover the wonderful world of South American wines with our South America Explorer's Case!
