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VIK – THE BEST KEPT WINE SECRET FROM CHILE
My visit to VIÑA VIK in April 2010 was absolutely the climax of our 2 weeks press-trip to Chile. The place is really fabulous, like the Eldorado in your best dreams; an island of peace and beautiful nature, in a place that even well-informed Chilean wine professionals never heard of. And yet, the heavenly site of Millahue in the Cachapoal valley is not much than 1 hour away on horse-back from the well-known Apalta, just the other side of the hill…
But Viña VIK is much more than only a paradisiacal place; it is a wonderful that becomes reality. The dream of one man, Alexander VIK. This famous Norwegian businessman might be one of the richest people in the world, he is also and may be on the first place, a sensible and very sensitive person with a great love for nature and culture. His big dream was to have his own vineyard. Therefore, Alexander VIK asked the famous French-Chilean wine specialist and consultant Patrick Valette, to find the best place in South-America to realize this big dream.
Patrick Valette is proud to be part of the VIK dream…
Well, the dream actually turned to a little bit more than ‘a vineyard’. It became a huge project, mixing natural landscapes, vineyards, a privileged oenotouristic accommodation, and very soon, a state-of-art winery. The realization of this dream started in 2006 from nothing. Alexander VIK bought a huge amount of land that just had been destroyed by fire… Alexander VIK is not just someone, he is a genial visionary. Now, in 2010, the place has become a natural oasis, around an artificial lake, the whole thing surrounded by three big hills coated with about 2.000 ha of natural woods. No money, no mean, no effort was saved to make this dream come through. The purchase, the realization and the planting of 303 ha with vineyards, the 250-300 workers, the top-team of specialists, the first buildings… the whole investment until now, must have been more than 20 million USD. But the story is not finished yet… It just started!
The biggest part is still to come, a very efficient winery, with solar energy, free cooling system, natural insulation, geothermal energy and a mind-boggling architecture will definitely change the viti-viniculture history of Chile and even South-America. Quick estimations of the costs give a new investment of at least another 20 million USD. Of course, it seems easy when you are a very successful multi-millionaire, but you still have to find the right people, the right place, and above all, have the guts and the passion to do it. This holistic project gives work, education, social health and hope for a better future to native people of the many valleys around, preserves the natural surroundings, enhances the local biodiversity and puts the Millahue valley on the world map. Alexander VIK is not just an ‘investor’, as I mentioned before, he is a visionary. But I really wonder if he actually knew when he purchased this place, what its name Millahue meant? The ancient folks of the valley used to call it “the Place of God”… Could it be a better presage?
Why VIÑA VIK will change the viti-viniculture of Chile:
- The whole project is based on a holistic approach, including viti-vinicultural, social, economic, environmental, touristic and cultural aspects.
- The cool climate, the scientific terroir study with about 6.000 ‘calicatas’ (holes in the soil) and the high density plantations (7.500 / 8.600 vines/ha, usual in Chile is 3.000/4.000 vines/ha) should lead to fresh, elegant, mineral and fruity wines with a great complexity and a fantastic balance.
- The dream-team consists of Alexander VIK, Patrick Valette (ex-Château Pavie, Neyen), Gonzague de Lambert (Château de Sales, Pomerol), Cristián Vallejo (ex-Terramater) and Pedro Veas (environmental lawyer, financial manager) is going for gold… ONE WINE, (one of) the best of Chile, if not the best of South-America.
- A mind-boggling architecture for the new winery, designed by the Chilean architect Smilian Rajdic (see website).
- A steady winemaking vision combining the best raw material with modern, efficient and quality enhancing material.
- A complete new vision of selling wines (see website).
- A wonderful oenotourism accommodation (see website).
Marketing & Sales manager Gonzague de Lambert
seems to have all the reasons to feel happy at VIK…
Click on the screen-shot for a link to the website
VIK 2009: the first wine on sale (official release 2011)
VIK just started to sell ‘en primeur’ the very first vintage of their top-wine. The ‘en primeur’ price is USD 1.200 for 12 bottles, which makes VIK already the most expensive Chilean wine on the market. The definitive price will rise after the official release, a normal issue as this will be a ‘collector’s item’ for the wine aficionados. The first wines will be for the ‘socios’, the members of the Viña VIK club (see website). In total 2.500 wooden cases with 12 bottles each should be released. Marketing and sales manager Gonzague de Lambert focuses in the first place on strategic markets like the USA, France, the UK, Canada and Brazil. But it would not surprise me if the Asian countries would also get involved…
The tasting proof:
The final blend of the VIK 2009 is 65% carmenère and 35% cabernet sauvignon. In the next future, other varietals will be assembled together to make it even more complex. The winemaking team might also use some cabernet franc, merlot and syrah.
VIK 2009, Millahue Valley, Cachapoal: Lovely color, quite intense for a wine from very young vines! Wow, very fruity (berries, plums) in the nose, with an elegant touch of toasty quality oak. Surprisingly fresh, juicy, very well balanced on the palate, with ripe and elegant tannins and a round, velvety and sensual finish. This wine will keep good, but is already really enjoyable! Very good wine!
PS: We tasted the wine again in the evening with Patrick, Gonzague, Pedro and Jane Nisbet Huseby (from the organizing Brandabout) during an informal (and really tasty) dinner. The wine-food match was not exactly the best that this wine deserved, but the pleasure was not less! A great plus of this wine is its freshness and elegance. It does not just sink right away from your lips to your socks, like some Chilean blockbusters do. This is a wine that does not tire or bore you after one glass. You actually can keep on drinking and enjoy the next glass… And we surely did!
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