I have just returned from Chile where I spent three incredible days visiting Viña Errázuriz whose illustrious portfolio includes icon wines Don Maximiano, Seña and Viñedo Chadwick. As part of a larger group of UK wine merchants and importers we were the guests of Eduardo Chadwick Claro, the fifth generation of Errázuriz and the visionary who set out in 1983 to rebuild the family firm. 

Eduardo is one of the most inspirational people I have had the chance to meet and, although he will be humble and say he is only half way there, what he has already accomplished for the reputation of Chilean wine is remarkable. With head winemaker Francisco Baettig accompanying us, it was a pleasure to spend three days with Eduardo learning about what makes these wines so special.

As with all wine regions, geography is important. Chile is a long and narrow country defined by its geographic barriers. Stretching over 4,300km and with desert to the north, the Andes Mountains to the east, Patagonia to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west Chile has, unsurprisingly, a wide range of climates. The Humboldt Current that descends from Peru creates a permanent chilling effect and when coupled with the South Pacific anticyclone a temperate Mediterranean climate forms in the middle of the country around Santiago. Predictably this is where most of Chile’s vineyards are found. 

The British wine trade descended on Lindley Hall in Westminster yesterday for the annual London UGC. It was the turn of the much anticipated 2015s to flaunt their newly bottled wares. And they didn’t disappoint!

In truth, this is not the most flattering time to display, often there is a bit of bottle shock that subdues the exuberant fruit one might recall from barrel tastings. The 2015s had no such issues. These are extrovert wines packed with sweet, succulent fruit, and swathed in gloriously generous tannins. There is certainly a more noticeable tannic structure post elevage, but this can only be a positive. Charming and delicious as these will be in their youth, they possess the presence to last for medium and even long-term drinking.

“I have pressed many grapes… but I have NEVER pressed a duck!” 

So went the words of Charles Philipponnat as he was whisked upstairs by Otto, owner and Maitre d’ of his eponymous restaurant on Gray’s Inn Road. “A duck yields a surprising amount of juice!” Charles exclaimed on his return to the table, having been pressed, quite literally into action, helping to operate the silver duck press that Otto uses to serve his legendary Canard a la Presse.

We were in the Private Dining room at Otto’s, a gem of a place, to celebrate 40 years of Clos des Goisses with a group of champagne aficionados. This was the very night after we’d released the epic 2008 on the roof-top of the Ham Yard Hotel, so Clos des Goisses was very much in the air. Other than exploring the famous longevity of Clos des Goisses and its incredible ability to enhance a meal, the rough theme of the evening was ‘8s (for obvious reasons), the oldest wine providing us a rare look at some magical bottles of 1978.