After a week in South America, our Buying and Sales Directors have returned from their whirlwind trip more excited than ever about the wines coming from this part of the world. Having done the hard work of tasting the very best that Argentina and Chile have to offer, they have carefully curated a list of true highlights from either side of the Andes. Icons and innovators is just the name for it and when it comes to value, these stars of South America are quite simply unbeatable.
The Icons Challenging the Myths
Chilean fine wines aren’t the most talked about. A reputation for bulk, supermarket wine is not the easiest to shrug off, but that isn’t stopping maverick estates from doing their part in challenging the myths and misconceptions. The terroir is complex, the vintage variation is far more nuanced and the potential of the top wines is staggering. These are not wines to be missed.
Zuccardi: Cutting Edge at a Cliff Edge
Even after the seemingly endless 26-hour journey from London Heathrow to Argentina’s Mendoza Valley, the group was buzzing with excitement as our convoy of trucks set off first thing in the morning to head deep into the Uco Valley. It was here that we lived, breathed, and drank in all that is the Zuccardi family’s incredibly ambitious vision. This is an estate pushing towards the future in the most positive, boundary-defying way possible – a model antithesis of progress for progress’s sake. Innovation is the word, in the most authentic and worthwhile sense of it.