T his month, for the first . time, our mini-bar offer comes from a single
winery, the celebrated Cousino-Macul estate in Chile. The winery nestles in the foothills of the Andes, close to Santiago, though they have just extended operations to another big estate in the Maipo Valley. Both settings are astonishing.
Fine wines have been made on the original site since the middle of the 16th century, and in 1856 it was bought by the Cousino family. The family brought cuttings of the finest grape varieties from France and Germany, taken well before the scourge of phylloxera hit Europe, and so the estate is like a sort of miniature version of France as it once was, with the Rheingau thrown in. Naturally, the prices are far lower than for the same grapes as grown in France, and there's the bonus of a very handsome set of labels. A lot of people will tell you it's silly to worry about labels, but it's not — who wants to serve their friends luscious wines like these and have them think it might be a supermarket generic wine-style beverage? You won't find any of these in the supermarkets or the chain stores.
The Riesling(t) is a lovely summery wine, fuller than most of its German equivalents, with that crisp fruity taste and a hint of lychees. The Chardonnay Antiguas Reservas(2) is quite superb, bringing you toast and hazelnuts, honey, even a hint of liquorice. Half the wine is aged in oak, and the other half undergoes malolactic fermentation, which gives it a smooth and buttery taste. Yum! At just over £7, it is quite fantastic value. The Merlot(3) is a lovely soft wine, a little like a Pomerol, with plenty of fruit and raisins and even a hint of tobacco. It needs a bit of air, after which I think you'll find it scrumptious.
The Cabernet Antiguas Reservas(4) is like a really powerful and graceful Bordeaux. Again, it could use decanting, when it will give you vanilla, oak and a very pleasing touch of sweetness, which may sound off-putting, but isn't — who would enjoy a sour grape?
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