Chile set to produce quality not quantity as growth slows

T HE 1999 vintage in Chile was a small one. After several years of spectacular growth in the UK market, the Chilean wine sales are set to slow down.

The good news is that the latest harvest, while low in quantity, is considered excellent in quality.

The result of lower yields in the vineyard is greater concentration in the grapes and thus the wine.

The dry conditions also limit the onslaught of disease and rot.

Throughout Chile's wine regions, reports are very good for the 1990's.

Indeed, the Chilean wine producers are only just discovering the best sites for their vines.

In the accessible Central Valley, irrigation is the norm.

Plentiful meltwater from the ice-capped Andes makes this form of watering, which is banned in the EU, easy and cheap.

There is a theory irrigation can dilute the grapes and thus the wine and, if it is required, the vineyard area is unsuitable for viticulture.

In this part of Chile, where drought is an almost permanent state, such fears are less of a concern.

The Central Valley is unlikely, however, to produce Chile's greatest wines, in the long run.

Yes, there are many really good whites and reds coming out of the area but Chile's real character is yet to be defined.

The Casablanca region has long been held to have a greater potential than the Central Valley and we are seeing some truly fine white wines from both Chardonnay and Sauvignon coming out of this relatively cool region.

The problem lies in the fact that much of Chile's output is identified by grape variety and not by region.

We are therefore less aware of the difference between regions, less so when the wine is a blend of a number of different regions.

Having established themselves as one of the most popular sources of wine to the UK, Chile is now moving into phase two, where they will try to emphasise the regional characteristics.

This is a move up the quality and the price bracket.

The emphasis on the distinct regional wines is hoped to highlight the superior quality of individual regions and therefore the added value of the wines of such a region.

The Chilean wine industry is only now realising the full potential of some of these regions that are set to be their best sites.

There is obviously plenty more to come from Chile.

Our favourite white was from the cool Bio Bio valley.

The Vina Gracia 1997 Reserva Superior Chardonnay is the shape of things to come from this relatively new region.

The crystal clarity of the fresh, lemony nose and the fine balance on the palate indicate the cooler climate of this region.

On the palat,e this concentrated fresh fruit style is balanced and refined.

Tesco has a very good Chilean Chardonnay Reserve 1998, priced £4.99.

This has a hint of vegetal, maturity on the edge of a full fruity nose. On the palate it has loads of full, ripe lemony tones with a zesty edge and some length.

Sainsbury's and Waitrose have an excellent Mont Gras Reserva 1998 Carmenere from the Colchagua region priced £5.99.

This grape is possibly Chile's greatest asset.

Originally from Bordeaux, where it is hardly grown now, it has a very fine character.

This wine has a lovely ripe, blackcurrant nose with a nice cedary edge.

On the palate it is full of complex, ripe blackcurrant fruit with an almost gravelly texture, like sucking a pebble, and a lingering finish.

Waitrose has the Valdivieso Lontue Cabernet Merlot 1996, priced £5.49.

This has a slightly closed-up blackcurrant and plum nose with a trace of oak.

On the palate it is full of smooth, soft blackcurrant and dark berry flavours.

It also has a very fine Gracia Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 1997 priced £6.99.