The Greatest Rieslings on Earth!
Riesling is making itself at home in more and more countries, but where is it performing the best?”
The UK magazine Imbibe did a blind tasting among the “Greatest Rieslings on Earth” between 7,50 and 30 pounds retail, together with a panel of 14 professional wine critics. Chile had the best average scores of all the Riesling producing countries! Our Casa Marin Riesling Miramar Vineyard 2010 was rated as one of the Greatest Rieslings on Earth!
Here are the conclusions of the “The Greatest Rieslings on Earth” tasting:
- Wines were of a high standard, only one wine did not make it over the 60%
- Chile had the top average score, but with only two wine entries. New Zealand won a convincing second place with five wines – without approaching the higher prices of some of the other countries
- While prices were premium, there was plenty of value found
- Food matching was more of a factor for this tasting than for most. Panelists recognized the great potential of this grape
- There is seemingly a great discrepancy between the wine trade´s perception of Riesling and that of consumers
- A number of tasters commented on an appealing mushroom character in some of the best examples tasted.
It is very interesting to see the high scores and quality of the New World Riesling compared to the traditional Rieslings of Alsace, which are by the way more expensive than the Rieslings from the New World.
From our own experience, a Chilean Riesling at an higher price is more difficult to sell because of the competition in Germany, Austria and France. This study finally approves that we Chileans can indeed make very good, high quality Riesling!
VINART Chile 2011
The first VINART 2011 exhibition will be held in Santiago, Chile during the month of May.
The public will be able to appreciate and observe local artists in the live process of painting oak barrels during the entire week.
The art pieces will subsequently be exhibited along with the respective reviews of the artists who took part in the intervention. The exhibition will be organized by a team of designers and curators of the CIAN Cultural Platform.
The objective of the initiative is to create a direct link between art and the corporate image of the vineyards, drawing high symbolic value from art, associated with innovation and style, while seeking to promote the country image component associated with the vineyards.
Viña Casa Marín takes part in the event with a mosaic-covered oak barrel made by Patricia Marin. The design and style symbolize the Casa Marín vision and the work is also representative of mosaic art displays found in the winery and throughout the town of Lo Abarca. The oak barrel display is open to the public from the 20th to the 30th of May, at Patio Bellavista.
For more information about the event please visit: http://vinartchile.wordpress.com/
Photos of VINART 2011
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Decanter World Wine Awards – The Results!
The results of the Decanter World Wine Awards 2011 are published.
- Casa Marin Sauvignon Blanc Cipreses 2010: Silver Medal
- Casa Marin Riesling Miramar 2010: Silver Medal
Harvest 2011 by Maria Luz Marin
The vintage of 2011 has perhaps been the most complicated vintage I have lived since my first vintage in 2003. We started with a very cool spring with little sun, and a tremendous amount of frosts (more than 11). Despite having some frost control, the last frost was in December and because of a human mistake, it went wrong and destroyed some complete blocks.
The summer was sunny but with a few hours of heat and plenty of wind that cooled down the temperature. With as a result, when we came close to harvest, the grapes were still green. The grapes that were located in the middle of the blocks were ready, therefore we had to make a great effort to only harvest the grapes that were ready.
We are now in the first week of May and we are still harvesting our Sauvignon Blanc. The grapes are still hanging on the vines and the only thing that the vines want to do is just go to sleep and they do not want to keep working to finish their grapes. This is a serious challenge for us; growers and winemakers. This is the first time we had to harvest our Sauvignon Blanc so late in the season.
Along with the frost and cold season, we were attacked by birds as never before, even in those blocks where they never appeared before…and besides the frost and bird attacks we must add that the yield this year has been very low due to very small and light weighted bunches.
But this is how it is in the countryside, where nature tells us what to do… and we must learn to live with it. The good news is that the health and quality of the grapes is extremely good and therefore we expect some amazing 2011 vintage wines. You always have to look at the positive side of all this, the technical challenges that we are facing each year, in each harvest, is very rich, we learn from this, and if we did not have those challenge, and when the wines would be very similar year after year, wine making would be very boring!!!
Celebration of the Harvest Season 2011
Viña Casa Marín is in the middle of their busiest season of the year; “The Harvest Season”. We would like to share with you what is going on, so check out the newly posted pictures!
As this is the most important season of the year, it needs to be celebrated. For that reason Casa Marín holds its fourth Wine Festival on Saturday April 16th in Lo Abarca from noon to 6pm. The festival brings together the best of the local cuisine, crafts, small food producers and visual artists, all of which are cultural expressions identified with wine, the sea and poetry. We hope to see you there!!
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Casa Marin Back in the UK Market!
Casa Marin and Mentzendorff signed agency agreement
After a search of 7 months for a new UK Agent we finally could sign an agreement with our new importer Mentzendorff. The Mentzendorff portfolio is built upon the two global leading brands of Bollinger Champagne and Taylor´s Port, around which they have assembled a diverse and interesting wine portfolio of small boutique and independent family-owned producers.
We from Casa Marin are very excited with this new agreement. We feel that Mentzendorff and Casa Marin fit perfectly together and we believe that this agreement will grow into a beautiful long-term relationship. As Maria Luz says: “working with an importer is like marriage, a lot of excitement and a committed relationship for life!”.
Andrew Hawes (managing director of Mentzendorff) comments in their Press release: “it is a pleasure for us to returning the wines of Casa Marin to the UK market where we feel convinced there is a demand for their high quality. We are also very much looking forward to start working with Maria Luz and her Family”.
Our wines will be for the first time showed with Mentzendorff at the Decanter New World Fine Wine Encounter and of course we will be with them at the International London Wine Fair.
For further information for distribution, please contact us at marketing@casamarin.cl
Fiesta de Vendimia 2011 – Casa Marín
Viña Casa Marín holds its fourth Wine Festival on Saturday April 16th in Lo Abarca from noon to 6pm. The festival brings together the best of the local cuisine, crafts, small food producers and visual artists, all of which are cultural expressions identified with wine, the sea and poetry.
A selected and attractive range of wines will be available for tasting and purchase. Visitors can enjoy traditional local delicacies and taste the wines from this prestigious vineyard. The price of the ticket is $5000 and includes 5 tastings with the glass as a take away gift. Attendees wishing to taste wines from the Ultra Premium line can do so in exchange for two tickets according to the chosen wine. Another featured offer is the sale of export wines from past vintages, most of which are white and have attained full complexity in the bottle.
One of the exclusive activities during this day will be a unique tasting session with Pascual Ibáñez, one of Chile’s best known sommeliers, who will offer an exclusive tasting and pairing of wines with the local cuisine. The Casa Marin wines selected for the tasting are Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Gewürztraminer, all of which will be paired with dishes from famous restaurants in the surrounding area. This is a unique opportunity available only to 24 lovers of great food. Those who participate will receive a bottle of reserve wine as an exclusive gift.
The unique tasting session with Pascual Ibáñez has a cost of $ 15,000 per person, and as there are very few seats, we recommend to make a reservation in advance.
During the event there will be a variety of activities, one of the highlights being the wide array of local traditional cuisine product choices available, including lamb and ceviche. Artisans and artists will display their work inspired by wine and the local culture. An unforgettable event at Viña Casa Marín that you should not miss.
For More information: hospitality@casamarin.cl
Phone: (2) 2349581
Food & Wine Magazine April 2011 features Casa Marin
Jon Fine, who writes for Food & Wine magazine, wrote an article in response to the February 2010 earthquake that shook Chile a year ago and how that disaster has shaped what the 2010 vintage is turning out to be now.
In his trip to Chile last May, Jon surveyed the damage and got a broader sense of the state of Chilean wine. In his article he highlights three of the winemakers he thinks represents much of the country’s potential, including Casa Marin:
“Then there are the winemakers in Chile who are truly walking the edge. That is, the edge of the country—those regions that are right up against the windswept Pacific coast, or close to Chile’s northern or southern borders, where cooler climates are yielding some of the country’s most fascinating wines. Viña Casa Marín’s Maria Luz Marín is a perfect example. In 2000, she founded the winery in the relatively undeveloped San Antonio valley, no more than a couple of miles from the Pacific. Today, she runs one of Chile’s star wineries, one that demonstrates most vividly the promise of this narrow country’s edges.
Casa Marín has won acclaim for its intense, minerally Sauvignon Blancs. The 2009 Cipreses Vineyard is all slate and grapefruit; the 2009 Laurel Vineyard is a touch sweeter, with passion-fruit flavors. Both wines are exemplary, but my favorite Chilean white is the Casa Marín Miramar Vineyard Riesling. The 2008 and 2009 are both thrilling amalgams of rock, lime and Riesling’s classic petrol-tinged aromatics. Casa Marín also produces Pinot Noir and Syrah, the latter from a vineyard site so cold that it’s a struggle to ripen the grapes in some years.”
Casa Marin Wines arrived in the Netherlands
Casa Marin and Okhuysen
This week on the 8th of March our container of Casa Marin wines touched the Dutch mainland. We are happy and proud to announce that Casa Marin will be represented in the Netherlands by our new importer Okhuysen! For more information about our wines and how to get them in the Netherlands, please visit www.okhuysen.nl
Terroir Discovery
Mr Tieni du Preez is the new wine consultant who has contracted Casa Marin. Du Preez, South African origin, is a recognized and experienced wine specialist, with a master degree in soil and nutrition scientist and has been a consultant for many years in other prestigious national vineyards of Chile.
Mr Du Preez, who also is consultant of vineyards and orchards in Argentina and Peru, is a leading private consultant in South Africa and has a long history in this field.
Casa Marin received Mr. du Preez this weekend for the first time, with as main objective to give shape to the new project of Casa Marin called “Tierras Blancas”.
We shared with Mr Du Preez a very interesting day, with the new discovery of a very special soil that thousands of years ago was covered by the Pacific Ocean. We hope to have a very good and successful collaboration in the course of time with this major international professional, and that Casa Marin will be still known as “one of the most radical and innovative vineyards of Chile”
Terroir Discovery at Casa Marin
Come and visit Casa Marin and see those secrets with your own eyes. If you understand the terroir, you understand the wine. We offer a tour in the vineyard, “Terroir Discovery”, which start at the highest point of the vineyard with ocean view, during this walk we will see the different soils, layers of soils, and we also compare the different leaves of the various vines and taste the grapes of each block to see the difference between one and another! Write to hospitality@casamarin.cl for more information or to make a reservation!
