However, a down draught from the Andes and the Pacific’s Humboldt Current both help to moderate temperatures by day and ensure very cold nights.
In addition, the sunlight is exceptionally bright and snowmelt from the Andes provides all the irrigation water required.
Viña Falernia, one of only two wineries in the valley, was built in the late 1990s by Italian Giorgio Flessati and won a Trophy with its first vintage. Elqui produces “some particularly gutsy Syrah at altitudes of over 2,000 metres” (World Atlas of Wine), and the Carmenère is equally robust.
Deep bramble, cassis and spice character, it's great with lamb. Best decanted.
only 4 left
Atakarma is a star from Matetic, a winery whose consistent quality has seen it listed in Wine & Spirits magazine’s Top 100 Wineries of the Year four times now.
Nestled in the Colchagua Valley, they source their fruit from across Chile's finest grape-producing valleys.
The Sauvignon for this white was harvested from the banks of the Tinguiririca river, where winds keep the grapes cool and aromatic, with a sparky freshness.
Winemaker Felipe Vial cool fermented this white, giving it a little lees ageing to lend a creamy textured edge.
With a crunch of citrus and tropical fruits, it's an ace apéritif.
only 2 left
only 32 left
As far back as 1982, the founder of this cellar, Pablo Morandé, was discovering the benefits of Chile's great coastal-cooled regions. That was a decade before anyone else. He set up his winery in 1996 and has won scores of awards since then, including being five times Chile's Winery of the Year. Pablo was also named a 'Winemaking Legend' by MW Tim Atkin in 2017, while James Suckling called his "a leading and innovative winery", "a bold, experimental winemaking adventure project".
His winemaker is Jorge Martinez, who has worked at cellars worldwide, including Napa's Kendall Jackson and Pauillac's Léoville Poyferré. Carignan from 40-year-old vines in the warm Maule valley, this is a velvety, dark, spiced red. An ideal match with lamb shanks.
