« CONCOURS MONDIAL DE BRUXELLES 2010: the RESULTS! | Home | SYMINGTON’S OFFER 2008 VINTAGE PORT »
PRESS TRIP TO CHILE APRIL 2010: CASA SILVA
Casa Silva is one of my favorite wineries in Chile. To be honest, not because all the wines are great (some are!), but because of the cozy family ambiance at the Fundo Angostura, the hospitality at the hotel, the people, the great landscapes in the vineyards of Los Lingues, and not to be forgotten the very tasty food at the restaurant!
There is life after the earthquake!
My latest visit in April was for me quite an emotional one. I had so much warm memories of my previous visit in autumn 2009. That was before the terrible earthquake! The damages at Viña Casa Silva were really severe, even worse than what I already knew. Gone, the wonderful hotel in old colonial style… Gone, the warm and cozy (blue) room where I spent the night… Gone, the restaurant where we had such a tasty meal and lots of fun with the waiters. Inside the winery, many walls collapsed. The losses in wine were huge. A tsunami of wine streamed out of the winery, inundating the lower streets. Reliable eye-witnesses reported that many local neighbors were filling tubes and jerry cans with wine; others were even sipping the wine directly from the street… Unbelievable, but absolutely true. In April, we had the chance to meet very shortly the president of Casa Silva, Mario Silva C. Like many other Chilean we met after the terrible earthquake, he was open about the damages. Of course he was really happy that ‘his’ old-timers car collection, ‘his’ horses, the polo house and equestrian center were not badly affected by the damages, regretted the loss of the unique hotel and the restaurant in the old winery… But for him, the most important of all, was that everything was ok with the workers, the staff and the family. His message to us was a warm message of hope.
100% family, 100% Chilean
The Silva family is very proud of what they have achieved, there in the magical Colchagua valley, where they have been producing wine since 1912. They are one of the very best promoters of a new Chilean life style among the Chilean consumers and abroad. Their terroir, varietal and even clonal studies (carmenère!) at Los Lingues have been and still are very important for the future of the Chilean wine industry. Also very promising for the future are the recent vineyards in Lolol, only 15 km from the Pacific Ocean, on granite soil, pre-Andean red clay and quartz gravel, under a fantastic climate, very warm in day-time and pretty cool at night, granting a very long and dry ripening season of 6-8 months, for outstanding aromatic complexity, elegant minerality and crispy natural acidity. Watch too the development of the very new vineyards in Paredones, even closer to the Pacific Ocean, only 9 km! A cool coastal place that gives already great sauvignon blanc wines, very aromatic and fresh, but will bring even better wines (sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot noir) in the future, when the vineyards will be old enough to fully profit of the great minerality of the granite and pre-Andean clay soil. Casa Silva is just at the beginning of a new and glorious page in their already so rich history.
Terroir study at Casa Silva Los Lingues – © Christian Callec, 2010
The tasting:
Casa Silva Reserva Sauvignon blanc 2009: fresh, floral, fruity in the nose. Nice acidity on the palate, not really complex, but very pleasant, mouth filling, with a round finish.
Casa Silva Reserva Sauvignon gris 2009: very aromatic, but not really complex. Nice and pleasant with a round and slightly mineral finish.
Casa Silva Sauvignon blanc Cool Coast 2009: Fresh and very aromatic, floral, subtle and elegant in the nose. Crispy fresh, juicy and mineral, lingering and pleasant. A good gastronomic wine!
Casa Silva Chardonnay Angostura Gran Reserva 2009: Well integrated oak in the nose, elegant and mineral (lees + bâtonnage). Nice acidity, elegant, creamy and juicy. Well done, but actually I preferred the 2008 I tasted in 2009.
Casa Silva Viognier Lolol 2009: Fresh, fruity (yellow stone fruit) and floral (spring blossoms). Clean and fresh style, quite modern, with a good minerality on the back. Good gastronomic wine.
Casa Silva Quinta Generación Blanco 2007 (viognier, sauvignon gris, chardonnay, 33% each): Nice aromatic and warm nose with well integrated oak. Juicy, mineral, elegant, well-balanced, a little bit too ‘warm’ (alcohol) in the finish, but very pleasant and gastronomic wine.
Casa Silva Syrah Carmenère rosé 2009: Neither this one nor the 2008 I tasted last year could really please me. The intense color gives the idea of a full rosé type, meant for grilled fish or poultry. But the nose is a little bit ‘overdone’ (too much ‘red fruit sweeties’ nose, too little pepper). The first sip is fresh, but then, a complete vacuum on the palate, and much too short finish. Disappointing.
Casa Silva Carmenère Reserva 2008: Nice, ripe, fruity and spicy nose (wild aromatic herbs, pimentón ahumado, liquorice…). Fresh on the palate, very pleasant, round, ripe and spicy, well-balanced and lingering fresh. Nice gastronomic wine.
Casa Silva Carmenère Los Lingues Gran Reserva 2008: Beautiful nose, very fruity, ripe, luscious and complex, with floral and mineral nuances. Very elegant, rich, juicy and well-balanced, with a round and sensual finale. Outstanding!
Casa Silva Cabernet Sauvignon Los Lingues Gran Reserva 2008: Spicy and herbal in the nose, some red fruit and floral hints, but a bit too much torrefaction aroma’s on the back. Well-balanced, with a good acidity, ripe fruit and good concentration. Unfortunately, the finish is much too oaky toasty and lives the mouth very dry… Not my favorite.
Casa Silva Syrah Lolol Gran Reserva 2008: Much better to my humble opinion than the 2007 I tasted last year. Fantastic color, great nose, even not really complex. Fresh on the palate, elegant, well-balanced, lingering fresh and mineral finale. I love it! This coastal vineyard is now much too young but is going to give REALLY GREAT SYRAH in the next decade!
Casa Silva Petit Verdot Gran Reserva 2008: Not bitter, green and austere like most of the Petit Verdot varietal wines I tasted, quite surprising. Very juicy, powerful but ripe tannins, with a lingering fresh finale. Nice wine indeed!
Casa Silva Quinta Generación Tinto 2007: Very ‘cassis’ and cherries in nose, spicy blend of cabernet sauvignon, carmenère, syrah and petit verdot. Fresh, juicy, well-balanced, but for me too much chocolate and other torrefaction nuances, too little ‘own’ character. The Chilean press and oenologists seem to like this wine and even consider it like one of the ten best assemblage wines of Chile, a wine to remember… Well, actually, I find it quite old-fashioned, too much international and may be too much made for the American market like it was 10 years ago. Not really my cup of … coffee.
Casa Silva Microterroir de Los Lingues Carmenère 2006: Beautiful nose, very elegant, aromatic and sensual, with personal associations like pimentón ahumado, liquorice and nostalgic ‘After-eight’ minty chocolates… Intense and rich on the palate, generous, velvety, with great ripe tannins and a lovely, round and sensual structure and a very long, juicy and mineral finish. What a FANTASTIC gastronomic wine, for a very fair price. I LOVE IT!
Casa Silva Altura 2004: Warm, generous and sensual nose, fruitier and less mocha-chocolate-oaky than the 2003 that I tasted in a restaurant last year. Elegant, lingering fresh, well-balanced, spicy and mouth filling, with a generous, velvety structure and very long finale. The style will improve in the next decade and offer more freshness and elegant fruity tones and minerality; this is only the beginning of a great story! (I certainly do hope so).
¡Comprar vinos chilenos ayuda a las víctimas del terremoto!
Buy Chilean wines to help the victims of the earthquake!
Achetez du vin chilien pour aider les victimes du tremblement de terre !
Koop Chileense wijnen om de slachtoffers van de aardbeving te helpen!
Comments
Una pagina interesantisimo gracias por el contenido seguire de cerca a los ultimos articulos