The Wines of Chile trade tasting in NYC just ended. My early picks:
-Clos Apalta 06 probably wins, but there was no Almaviva there, and if you adjust for QPR, this doesn’t win. Perfumed nose, oak and red fruits on the palate; 91-92+ points.
Viu Manent (esp Oliver malbec 07) and Odfjell (esp Aliara 06 malbec/syrah) stood out across their lineups as being wineries presenting wines with character and not obscuring their fruit behind oak.
Lots of good sauv blanc at the budget range.
Nice chards from Errazuriz (07 Wild Ferment), Arboleda and Veramonte in the budget range - giving a nice mix of sweet fruit balanced by racy acidity - not just buttery and oaky, but fresh, floral, herbal.
Honorable mention for Cono Sur 20 Barrels PN, which has nice acidity, perhaps a tad too much, but I applaud the effort for real character here instead of just syrupy sweet PN.
Still a ways to go for these wines to compete beyond the budget range and deliver complexity in their icon wines, but lots of QPR action going on here that could surprise in blind tastings.