The Aromatic Wines of South America

Shielded from the normal issues of winemaking by the Pacific to the East, Andes Mountains to the West, Atacama Desert to the North and the Ice-fields of the Torres del Paine in the South and from the Limarí Valley in the North of Chile to Bio Bio in the South; Chile is producing some beautiful ‘aromatic’ wines.  It is in these micro-climates where these delicate varieties flourish.  In Argentina, the sloping terraces of the Andes provide high-altitude wine-making 

However, in the trade there is still the assumption that both Chile and Argentina are best known for their plantings of the ‘big four’; Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

In order to address this, I decided to host a lunch at the prestigious Nahm Restaurant.

Who we were...

Tamara Archer, Nahm Restaurant; Kevin Molard, Mortons Private Members Club; Federic Taho, Pearl Restaurant and Natasha Hughes, journalist.

What we ate & drank

We kicked off lunch with a brief explanation of Chile & Argentina´s winemaking regions; it was a joy to explain the diversity of each Country, to expel the myths of Chile being just good value and to and Argentina being nothing more than Malbec.

Our aperitif was the 
l crisp and clean with good acidity and a generous wallop of minerality from the limestone soils of the Limarí Valley.  Perfect palate stretcher for the meal ahead, Frederic commented on the saltiness of the wine which enhanced the delicate flavours and mouth-feel.

The food...

For our first course we were served the chicken, the wine I initially chose to match to this dish was the Terrunyo Sauvignon Blanc, which although it lifted the dish, having now tasted the depth of flavour, the food needed a wine with more body, so we opened the Cono Sur Vision Riesling.  The oiliness of the Riesling cut through the spiciness of the dish perfectly.

For the next dish we were served the Langoustines, as you can see a delicious medley of lemongrass, toasted coconut and rambutans.  The Cono Sur Vision Riesling was a fantastic choice to pair with this, the spicy depth of flavour with the shellfish paired perfectly with the oily, appley Riesling.

Kevin has a seafood allergy, so he had a rather fine looking grilled beef salad with mint and roasted rice (inset) with this we paired the Terrunyo Sauvignon Blanc and it really worked, the mint lifted the beef and the grassy Sauvignon Blanc worked excellently with the toasted rice nuttiness.

With the soup course we drank Cono Sur Vision Pinot Noir, everyone was really impressed with the quality of the wine, especially after I’d explained Cono Sur’s specific Pinot Noir cellar and how Adolfo (the Winemaker) loves this variety, so much so it’s absolutely the wineries speciality.

The really fresh, juicy style of the wine complemented the fresh tang of the soup perfectly.

For the main course there were two really challenging wine-matching dishes; an aromatic chicken curry with  potatoes and a cucumber relish and a braised oxtail curry with tomatoes, herbs and lime. for the chicken we put the Cono Sur Gewurztraminer, a lychee and rose-petal palate which lifted the whole dish.- kevin found this wine very fresh therefore a good match, unlike the richer Alsace style.-

The Ocio Pinot Noir had the structure and complexity to enhance the braised oxtail and cut through the acidity of the tomatoes.  Ocio has the freshness and fruit to really enhance the taste of the fresh herbs in the dish.

To finish we had a sublime selection of petit fours – and with this the unctuous Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2008.  90% Sauvignon Blanc and with just a touch of Riesling and Gewurztraminer, and with 40% of the wine botrytised this wine is a stand-out for any dish.

With the sweetness of the petit fours it matched perfectly to the smooth honeyed tones of the wines.  Frederic was a great fan of the wine and these little taste sensations.

The best match... Definitely the Ocio and oxtail, but the Riesling and langoustines came a very close second!