Part 3 of this series reviews the 8 wines tasted during the Wines of Chile Blogger Tasting that took place May 12, 2010. They are all 2009 vintage so I won't be including that in the titles.
1. Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc Reserva, Casablanca Valley, 100%, 13.5 % abv, $10.99
Tasting notes: clear, light straw in color, medium concentration, medium viscosity; honeydew melon, grapefruit, white peach and jasmine on the nose; add lime, lemon and green apple to the palate - dry, medium body, medium alcohol, medium plus acid and medium finish.
One of the most interesting things about Chile is that it is the only country left that is a completely phylloxera free wine producing country. Phylloxera devastated North American vines and later European vines in the late 1800s. Phylloxera is a root louse that attacks the roots of the vines and eventually kills them. When phylloxera attacked European vineyards, the same varieties had already been well established in Chilean vineyards and were returned after grafting onto American rootstocks was discovered to thwart the louse. Chile's ungrafted vines are the only ones to extend their own roots deep into the earth to impart the truest expression of terroir to the fruit.
Winemaking appeared in the New World in the 16th century, thanks to the Spanish Conquistadors. The vine spread south from Peru to Chile and Argentina by 1560. Viticulture flourished in South America until it began to suffer under a prohibitive Spanish law that restricted wine production in the 17th century. Chile did its best to ignore the ban on production until finally it was all but settled in the early 1800s, due to a new era of political autonomy to former colonies and Chile, Argentina and Brazil gained independence.
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