Magic Marriages

By Michael Franz
Wednesday, January 28, 2004; Page F07

The process of crafting great wine depends partly on science and partly on art. Scientific research on grape growing and winemaking has illuminated many factors that once fell to hunches or ingrained routine, narrowing the contribution of human intuition. Yet art retains a role that science cannot displace. Human judgments regarding when to pick, how to macerate and ferment and when to bottle are all critically important and are matters less of measurement than of "feel." This is demonstrated by the fact that equally well-trained and equipped producers do not -- by a long shot -- make equally good or consistent wines.   
All of this is generally accepted in winemaking circles, though some observers depreciate science as assuring nothing above basic competence, while others devalue the realm of art as one of mere luck in need of additional science. But I would add that, beyond either science or art, great wine also involves magic.  
 

More specifically, all of the world's greatest wines result from a synergy between a particular grape and a particular place. These synergies cannot be contrived by art. Nor can they be explained adequately by science. You can therefore ascribe them to anything you wish, but I choose to attribute them provisionally to magic.

What is a synergy? It is an interaction of two or more things achieving an effect of which each is individually incapable. What are my examples? For starters, Pinot Noir and Burgundy's Cote d'Or. Nebbiolo and Piedmont. Riesling and Germany's Mosel Valley. In each case, the grape reaches heights that it may not be able to attain anyplace else. And in each case, the place generates wine much more profound than it might produce from any other grape. 
 

I'm aware that recourse to magic as a mode of explanation has been out of fashion for, well, 400 years. However, I'm thinking of magic here not as an explanation but as a semi-serious starting point for approaching things both real and remarkable. Vineyards like Musigny in the Cote d'Or conjure characteristics from Pinot Noir that sure taste like magic to me -- and to thousands of other tasters as well. Information about subsoils and microclimates doesn't exhaust the mysteries of Musigny, or of Riesling from the Bernkasteler Doctor vineyard or of Nebbiolo from Barolo Brunate. In these cases, a synergy of grape and place produce a greatness that is a fact -- though a fact partly shrouded in a mysteriousness that enables great wine to preserve a delightful dimension of magic. 

 

During the year, I want to devote a series of occasional columns to places where certain grapes and growing conditions combine to produce seeming vinous magic. Some of these columns will explore well-established spots from the Old World. Additionally, I'll consider places in the New World where vintners are revealing magical connections between a particular grape and an emerging region, starting here with Chile's Maipo Valley and its wonderful synergy with Cabernet Sauvignon. 

 

If I haven't already made you skeptical by speaking of magic, I've probably done it now by considering Chilean Cabernet in connection with some of Europe's greatest wines. But wait. If you haven't tasted Cabernets from Chile lately, or haven't yet tasted toward the top of the totem pole, you may not be prepared for the greatness that awaits you in the best Maipo bottlings now available here.

Until quite recently, Chilean Cabernets were generally touted for their ability to get under other Cabs on price rather than above them on quality. Maipo's particular magic with Cabernet has been further obscured by the facts that excellent Cabs are also made in other regions (such as Colchagua and Aconcagua) and that Maipo also produces other wines (such as Merlot, which is in vogue, and Carmenere, which is excitingly novel). Nevertheless, recent vintages have made it clear that Cabernet is Maipo's top grape, and that Maipo's Cabernets are both Chile's finest wines and worthy competitors to the very best Cabs anywhere on earth. 
 

The Maipo Valley surrounds Chile's capital city of Santiago on its north, west and south, with the Andes setting its eastern boundary. A few vineyards and wineries are perched above the city to the east, but the great majority lie to the south and west. Growing conditions are dry and sunny, with an average of only 12 inches of rain per year, though water for irrigation is abundant from rivers carrying runoff from the Andean snowpack. 

 

The rain is overwhelmingly concentrated in winter, when the vines are dormant, so washed-out harvests are virtually unknown. The growing season is warm, which helps with attaining maturity in late-ripening Cabernet grapes. Yet nights can be quite cool, especially to the east, as cold air from the Andes rolls down the slopes, contributing excellent color and acidity to the grapes.  

 

Roughly 20,000 acres are devoted to vineyards despite Santiago's urban sprawl and, tellingly, over half are devoted to Cabernet Sauvignon. Maipo Cabernets gain distinction by being generally riper than Bordeaux but more restrained than Cabs from California or Australia. They are particularly noteworthy for robust flavor and excellent aging capacity combined -- magically -- with soft texture and early accessibility. 

 

Many Maipo Cabs are also accessible in terms of price and, though the very best renditions are expensive, most offer excellent value by comparison to their qualitative counterparts. Brief notes on top performers from my recent tastings are listed below in order of preference, with approximate prices indicated in parentheses: 


Almaviva 1998 ($80):

Chadwick 2000 ($70): An astonishing newcomer produced within sight of Almaviva, this gorgeous thoroughbred will keep the race for primacy interesting within Chile while also challenging the world's greatest Cabs;

Don Melchor 1999 ($40): Consistently outstanding and very fairly priced, this features lovely black currant fruit with notes of cocoa, mint and subtle oak spice;

Terrunyo 2000 ($29): Dark and deeply concentrated, with great intensity but also soft feel and a smooth finish thanks to perfect Maipo tannins;

Carmen "Wine Maker's Reserve" 1997 ($47): Fully mature but still fresh, this offers deep, complex flavors but is absolutely soft and refined from start to finish.

Haras "Character" 2000 ($20): Another amazing newcomer with strong fruit concentration and well measured wood, this shows more power and poise than most Cabs priced at $30;

Los Vascos "Le Dix" 1999 ($41): This should be better for the money but is nevertheless impressive, with complexities that help compensate for a certain lack of depth and accessibility;

Marques de Casa Concha 2001 ($14): A wonderful overachiever that will be followed by a gorgeous 2002, this is a beautiful wine with black cherry fruit, lightly spicy oak, and fantastic fine tannins;

Cousino-Macul "Finis Terrae" 2001 ($?): Fruity and funky at once, with an endearing blend of ripe, New World notes and earthy elements more reminiscent of Europe or more traditional Chilean wines.

Armador 2001 ($10);

Cousino-Macul "Antiguas Reservas" 2001 ($13);

Veramonte "Winemaker's Selection" 2001 ($10);

Santa Rita Reserva 2001 ($11);

Agapanto 2002 ($10);

Concha y Tory "Casillero del Diablo" 2002 & 2003 ($9).