For centuries, the wine situation in Chile was very simple: vineyards were planted on low flat fields, yields were high, quality was average but that didn’t matter as the vineyards were easy to maintain and harvest. Fruit content was sky high but again, that was ok as wines were more smooth, sucessful and more or less appealing.

That was all fine until a wave of new world winemakers decided that the Chilean wine industry, such as it was, needed revolutionising. No longer would they follow the tried and tested methods that had been barely fuctional for so long. Estates, both established and new, began experimenting with vines at altitude, often grazing the 1,000 metre mark, or close by the sea, with cooling marine breezes to counter the hot summers. Slowly but surely Chile began to establish itself on the world stage as a serious contender. Chilean wine it seemed, had finally arrived.

Partly responsible for this upheaval is Eduardo Chadwick of cult wine Sena fame. One of the pioneers of the orignal Chilean wine scene, Vina Errázurizin the Acongua Valley was founded in 1870 by Don Maximiano Errázuriz. Eduardo Chadwick, fifth generation of Chadwicks to run the estate and a man of vision, has brought his famaily’s estate very firmly into the 21st century. The winery was awarded the title of Best Chilean Winery in 2017 by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and Eduardo himself was Decanter’s Man of the Year in 2018.

Apart from thier fabulous Sena, once a joint venture with Robert Mondavi but now wholly owned by Chadwick, the estate also produces four other wines, notably the Vinedo Chadwick, the wine that is said to be responsible of changing the face of the Chilean wine industry forever. We are of course talking about the fabled 2001 that beat the likes of Chateaux Lafitte and Latour at blind tasting sessions in Berlin in 2004 (and then replicated the feat at following blind tasting worldwide). Unsurprisingly, Vinedo Chadwick is no one hit wonder; in fact it is Chile’s most expensive wine (although at €200 it is still incredibly reasonable). Vintages consistently receive rave reviews, with the 2015 scoring the perfect 100 points, the first Chilean wine to ever acheive such an honour.