page 1 memberservices@ Half bottle of Tabalí Late Harvest Pink Limarí Muscat 2011 Made from about 40% botrytised fruit, this has wonderfully grapy, musky aromas, and a sweet palate underpinned by lovely freshness. White wine made from pink grapes. Product Code CE7242 Dominant Grape Muscat Product Type White Wine Drink Dates 2013 to 2016 Origin Chile Alcohol Level 12.5% Style 7 (of 9): Dessert sweetness Closure type Cork, natural Vintage 2011 Price No longer for sale Producer : Viña Tabalí - See next page.
page 2 memberservices@ Producer : Viña Tabalí This estate, which began planting vines in 1993, is located on the southern bank of Chile s northern Limarí Valley, around 400km north of Santiago. About 29km inland from the Pacific ocean, where the average maximum temperature in the hottest month is about 25 C, this is ideal for fine chardonnay and pinot noir. The predominant vegetation is cacti, attesting that this is a desert, with just 90mm of rain a year (Mendoza has 200mm, Santiago 400mm), but it is a cool desert. Despite a series of reservoirs in the Andes, recent years have been very dry, and lack of water may threaten existing vineyards and limit future development. Vineyards are situated on three sites, comprising 300 hectares of vines in total. The site around the winery was originally poorly planted but viticulturist Héctor Rojas has been analysing the soils and planting in the best ones which often have high levels of active calcium carbonate. The new Espinal vineyards, 25 km from the sea, have been planted to a density of about 7000 vines a hectare, drip irrigated, and planted with excellent clones and French sélections massales of pinot noir and chardonnay from French nursery Guillaume. The first crop of chardonnay appeared in 2013 and is already showing a huge promise. Syrah from near the winery has also been a huge success. The second site is in the Talinay mountains just about 12km from the coast, with significant wind, which reduces crop at flowering and limits photosynthesis (and so maturity). What is remarkable here is both the very low temperature of about 23 C (the average maximum in the hottest month), which makes this one of the coolest vineyards in Chile, and the so far unique white limestone soil, with some clay, a marine terrace formed from the shells of sea creatures. Pinot, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc are planted here and make tense, taut mineral wines, very different from anything else produced in Chile. A range made from grapes grown here is labelled Talinay. The third site is a small experimental site called Rio Hurtado at 1922m above sea level in the mountains. It was planted a couple of years ago, and so far a number of red varieties have been planted. Malbec has been promising but it is early days. The winery reflects the Molle culture of the pre-columbian era: during this period, the people used to live at the bottom of ravines to protect themselves from the heat and to be nearer to water supplies, and so Tabalí chose to build its winery in the cool depths of a ravine. Gifted winemaker Felipe Müller oversees the production of a handful of ranges, from the keenly priced Reserva range, which showcases the elegance and complexity of single varietals (including syrah, chardonnay, viognier and a sweet, late-harvest muscat) to the more premium Reserva Especial range, made from grapes planted on the oldest alluvial terrace of the Limarí river. The wines are fermented in stainless-steel tanks, and aged in new French oak where appropriate, normally for around a year.
page 3 memberservices@ Producer : Viña Tabalí - Continued. Tabalí s top wine is the exquisite Payen, a 100% syrah grown from a small plot of the estate s very best vines, which is fermented in a mixture of stainless steel and French oak, and then aged in oak (90% new) for up to 18 months.
page 4 memberservices@ Samos Anthemis 2005 Halves Luscious, deep-gold sweet vin doux naturel muscat with beguiling hints of honey and caramelised oranges from Samos in the eastern Aegean. Startlingly good with creamy blue cheeses and honey-based puddings. Drink this year and next. Product Code GR452 Dominant Grape Muscat Product Type White Wine Drink Dates 2011 to 2014 Origin Greece Alcohol Level 15.0% Style 8 (of 9): Very sweet Closure type Cork, natural Vintage 2005 Price No longer for sale Producer : Samos The Greek island of Samos, birthplace of Pythagoras, lies in the Aegean sea on Greece s eastern coast, and its wines were the first from Greece to be granted AOC status. The island has long been famous for its sweet muscats, with a winemaking tradition some believe dates back 3,000 years. Founded in 1934, the island co-op is one of the oldest in Greece. Its members have done much to modernise production, and have vastly improved both the quality and the reputation of Samos wines. It now represents 26 vinegrowing villages. The vineyards are in the north of the island. There are around 1600ha in all, many of which are up to 800m above sea level high up in the Ambelos mountain, with deep soils that allow the vines to dig deep and produce excellent-quality fruit. The altitude allows the grapes to ripen slowly and steadily, allowing high sugar levels to develop, making them perfect for sweet wine production. Muscat is king here, namely muscat à petits grains, which takes up 97% of the vineyard area. The co-op has two wineries in which it produces a range of sweet wines as well as various dry whites and rosés. Samos Anthemis is aged for five years in wooden casks.
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