Chile is one of the wine world's great value hunting grounds, a place where reliable quality runs from honest everyday bottles to serious icon wines. The country is a long, narrow strip down the Pacific coast, walled off by the Andes to the east, the Atacama Desert to the north and the ocean to the west. That isolation kept phylloxera out, so many Chilean vines still grow ungrafted on their own roots.
Maipo Cabernet and the rediscovery of Carmenère
The Maipo Valley, just south of Santiago, is often called the Bordeaux of South America. Warm days and cool Andean nights ripen Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends full of blackcurrant, cedar and firm structure, home to icon wines like Almaviva, the Rothschild and Concha y Toro venture at Puente Alto. Chile's real signature, though, is Carmenère. Brought from Bordeaux in the 1850s, it was mistaken for Merlot for a century until a French expert identified it in 1994. Ripe and plummy with a savoury, herbal edge, it sits happily beside our wider red wine and Cabernet Sauvignon ranges.
Cool coastal whites, Syrah and Pinot Noir
Chile is not only about big reds. The cool valleys of Casablanca and Leyda sit close to the Pacific, where sea fog and the Humboldt current slow ripening and preserve acidity. This is the source of Chile's finest Sauvignon Blanc, all lime and cut grass, along with taut Chardonnay and delicate Pinot Noir showing red cherry and cranberry. The same coastal sites give a peppery, savoury Syrah closer to the northern Rhône than to Australia. Browse the full white wine selection, or seek out prestige bottlings such as Seña from the Aconcagua Valley.
Chilean wine FAQ
Which food pairs with Chilean red wine?
Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenère love grilled, smoky food. Barbecued steak, roast lamb or a plate of chorizo all work well, the ripe fruit and herbal note echoing the char and spice.
Is Chilean wine good value?
Famously so. Few countries offer as much quality for the money, be it crisp everyday whites or age-worthy Maipo reds, which makes Chile a reliable place to shop.
What is Carmenère?
Carmenère is Chile's flagship red, a Bordeaux grape once thought lost to disease and rediscovered here in 1994. It gives soft, ripe wines with plum, dark chocolate and a green, peppery lift, best with hearty cooking.