Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/12827
top three wines, the first awarded three points, the second two points and the third one point, to arrive at a ranking top to bottom from most points to least. Below is the order of the top five wines from the first ten events, before Chadwick rounded them off into a baker’s dozen in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles this May: Berlin 2004: Viñedo Chadwick 2000, Seña 2001, Lafite 2000, Margaux 2001 = Seña 2000 São Paulo 2005: Margaux 2001, Viñedo Chadwick 2000, Seña 2001, Latour 2001, Seña 2000 Tokyo 2006: Latour 2000, Seña 2000, Viñedo Chadwick 2000, Seña 2001, Don Maximiano 2003 Toronto 2006: Margaux 2000, Latour 2000, Don Maximiano 2003, Tignanello 2000, Seña 2003 Copenhagen 2008: Lafite 2005, Don Maximiano 2004, Mouton 2005, Solaia 2004, Seña 2005 Seoul 2008: Margaux 2004, Lafite 2004, Don Maximiano 2004, Tignanello 2004, Don Maximiano 2005 Beijing 2008: Don Maximiano 2005, Don Maximiano 2004, Sassicaia 2004, Viñedo Chadwick 2004, Mouton 2004 Amsterdam 2008: Don Maximiano 2005, Seña 2004, Seña 2005, Viñedo Chadwick 2005, Don Maximiano 2004 London 2009: Margaux 2005, Lafite 2005, Solaia 2005, Don Maximiano 2006, Viñedo Chadwick 2006 Stockholm 2009: Don Maximiano 2005, Seña 2005, Lafite 2004, Ornellaia 2004, Don Maximiano 2004 At this point, after six years, the Chilean icon wines had notched up four first places out of ten, and 29 out of the 50 top five, against wines that were immeasurably better-known and vastly more expensive. As Eduardo Chadwick remarked, when Christophe Salin of Domaine Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) described these tastings as a “circus,” “To obtain recognition, you have to go up against the benchmarks.” This was also the aim and the result of the Paris Tasting. For the tastings in America, it was decided to show Opus One (the Mondavi-Mouton joint venture) and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars (winner of the Paris Tasting) and drop one Pauillac and one Super-Tuscan. Also, Eduardo Chadwick decided to enter his two most recent icon wines: KAI (87% Carmenère, 9% Petit Verdot, 4% Shiraz) and La Cumbre (97% Shiraz, 3% Petit Verdot), both from hillside vineyards in the Aconcagua Valley. All ten wines were vintage 2006. Here is my report from Chicago, along with reports from Lana Bortolot in New York and Anthony Dias Blue in Los Angeles. New York, May 10, 2010 The first thing invitees noticed in New York was the irony of the situation: an important blind tasting in a space of commanding views. Here, on the 36th floor of the Mandarin Oriental, 70 of the city’s top wine professionals and writers gathered for the inaugural Berlin Tasting in the U.S. The selections were known in advance, but the pouring order remained a mystery. The tasters knew only they were charged to stack Errázuriz’s showcase against the icons: Château Lafite-Rothschild, Chateau Haut-Brion, Opus One, Stag's Leap and Seña. “Chile has been known so far for good wines at affordable prices, but the best of Chile is not well understood,” Chadwick said. Eduardo Chadwick’s “A-Team” was in place: moderator Steven Spurrier, importer Michael Quinttus and winemaker Francisco Baettig. George Taber, who covered the renowned Paris Tasting for Time magazine, sat front row center. Then the excitement began. Tasters had about 30 minutes to assess the ten 2006 vin- tages. In the end, it was Chile’s calling card—an $80 bottle of Carmenère—that beat out $500 and $1,000 First Growths. In descending order, the surprising and pleasing results were: Errázuriz KAI ($80), Opus One ($160), Chateau Haut- Brion ($500), Errázuriz Don Maximiano ($90), Château Lafite- Rothschild ($1,000), Errázuriz Shiraz La Cumbre ($80), Seña ($100), Stag’s Leap SLV ($70) and, tied for ninth place, Viñedo Chadwick ($180) and Sassicaia ($160). Chadwick’s big win and the respectable number-four position helps give Chilean wines the credibility they deserve, but which has often eluded them. “We made the point in the first tasting that gave us tremendous importance—now we’re proving the consistency,” he said. —Lana Bortolot Chicago, May 11, 2010 After a winner and a fourth place in New York, the Chadwick stable was on five out of 11 firsts and 31/55 from the top five. The Errázuriz team—I sat alongside Eduardo Chadwick, his American importer Michael Quinttus and head winemaker Francisco Baettig, and our notes were not counted—was in a cheerful frame of mind. The wines had been double-decanted in New York, but were not (on my advice) in Chicago nor in Los Angeles, but opened earlier. The results in descending order were: Stag’s Leap SLV, KAI, Lafite, Haut-Brion, Opus One, Don Maximiano = Seña, La Cumbre, Sassicaia, Viñedo Chadwick. The rankings and the comments from the tasters showed a good recognition on New World and Old World styles, with a large majority placing Stag’s Leap and Opus One in California. Verbally, the tasters showed a preference for the classic styles, and the result was the first of 12 tastings where Chile gained only one place in the top five. The level of professionalism was very high. My own top five wines were Sassiciaia, Seña, Stag’s Leap, La Cumbre, Don Maximiano. —Steven Spurrier Los Angeles, May 12, 2010 Angelenos also loved the 2006 Stag’s Leap SLV, picking it first, followed by 2006 Haut-Brion, 2006 Opus One and 2006 Lafite. The top-scoring Chadwick wine was, surprisingly, the 2006 KAI, a wine made from mostly Carmenère. Although the Los Angeles results may have been disap- pointing, the point of this exercise, I believe, was to demon- strate that the Chilean icons deserve to be compared with these other “superstar” wines. This tasting definitely proved that contention; four out of the five Chadwick wines received 90 points or better from me. —Anthony Dias Blue Summary This was the lowest ranking of the Chilean wines of the thirteen tastings. From the start in Berlin, the results were read out from the bottom up, and in reaching equal fourth in that tasting, Eduardo Chadwick visibly relaxed. To have his five wines ranked in the bottom half at the final tasting would have been a sad end to this odyssey, but KAI came through to take fifth place, giving Chile 33/65 of the top five overall. To achieve this result due to a recently created wine, whose grape variety only a decade or so ago was mistaken for Merlot, was a fitting conclusion. Eduardo has gained continuing recogni- tion over seven years for his own wines and for Chile in equal measures. In so doing, he is a true ambassador for his country. july 2010 / the tasting panel / 2