Miguel Torres or Perez Cruz

by Jack
(Villarrica, Chile)

Trying to decide what is my favorite Chilean wine is almost impossible because so many of the wines from Chile (especially the reds) are so good that even the most inexpensive wine that you can buy in a cardboard tetra-pak in the supermarket is likely to be at the very least, pleasant.

There are two wines, however, that stand out in my memory as being especially delightful.

The first is one which I only drank once, when a friend who had been traveling through the wines district of Chile brought me a bottle from a visit they made to the Miguel Torres winery. The wine was Santa Digna Carmenère and it had a beautiful cherry colour to it and a nice blackberry taste that ended with something that reminded me of a mandarin orange. mmmm.

The other wine which really made a mark in my memory is one that I've never tasted, but certainly will grab to try if I ever find it.

What made this so memorable for me was that during a cruise on the MS Amsterdam in April 2009 we made a stop at Arica, Chile and many passengers took the opportunity to buy wines during their shore excursions.

A couple of days later, on a day at sea, I wondered into the Art Gallery on the ship and immediately was greeted by an intense and delightful aroma of a wine which some fellow passengers were enjoying. It was so intense that I sensed it from about 20 or 30 feet away and was so impressed that I felt compelled to ask them what wine they were drinking. They did not invite me to sample it, however they showed me the bottle and I memorized the vineyard's name for future reference: It was Perez Cruz.

Obviously, just one spectacular wine doesn't mean that every wine from that vineyard is going to be the same, but I would certainly like to sample a few more of their offerings. I've since learned that their wines have won several international awards.