If you get to the Elqui valley and keep driving for another couple of hours, you’ll hit the fringes of the Atacama desert. It’s hot and arid, cacti pepper the stark mountainsides that tower above the road and without irrigation nothing would grow here. The sun shines 340 days a year so my chances of catching some rays, after our Baltic picnic with Ventisquero the day before, were pretty good.
The Elqui valley is a true valley unlike others like the Maipo valley, which is actually a region. The UV light is incredible and companies are legally obliged to provide sun tan cream and protective clothing for their workers. So, as you can imagine the grapes need a bit of protection too. Winds whistling down the valley from the sea also mean many vines (mainly table grapes) on the valley floor are protected with netting.
It’s mostly table grapes and Pisco production, and wine is fairly new to the scene. Falernia is the major player in the region but other major companies Concha y Toro, San Pedro, Santa Rita are seeing the potential of the region and buying grapes from growers based here.
While most of the vines are on the valley floor near the small town of Vicuna; there is certainly ambition here and they’re planting a new vineyard up at 2000 metres in the Huanta valley. It’s a 45-minute drive from Vicuna up a precarious goldmining road and into the Andes. While it was hot on the valley floor, a cardi was called for up at Huanta. The poor old llamas in one of the fields are going to be homeless when the vines are planted.
Reds will be mainly planted up here – particularly Carmenere and Syrah. That’s not because Cabernet wouldn’t do well here. The company’s Italian winemaker Giorgio Flessati said, “Carmenere and Syrah are our focus because there are too many Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlots in the market.â€
The winery makes a dry white PX for Marks & Sparks, which is a quirky idea but a forgettable wine. However, its top Syrah and its Carmenere made in an Amarone style are the stars of the show. Amarone fans should get hold of a bottle and a bar of dark chocolate and enjoy: £10.95, Great Western Wines.
