Co-Presenters:

Embassy of Chile in India

Hyatt Regency Delhi

Indian Wine Academy

A panel of wine aficionados and experts from the hospitality industry got together at the Tasting Room of the Hyatt Regency Delhi on Saturday, February 4, to rate the eight top Chilean wines available in India and offered for the competition. The panel's agenda, first and foremost, was to promote the idea that Chile produces quality wines for the discerning segments of the market, apart from acclaimed value-for-money wines.

More importantly, the panel got together for a blind tasting with the express purpose of preparing independent tasting notes for the wines after taking into account the demands of the Indian palate. We hope our work will give the on-premise business an alternative to wine-maker's notes and international magazine ratings on which it bases its purchase decisions.

We did not rank the wines out of respect for the feelings of local importers, who said the business was still too young to handle the consequences of adverse ratings. In subsequent months, though, we will rank wines after categorizing them according to price points, grape varieties and countries of origin. The rankings will be available and updated weekly on www.indianwineacademy.com.

We will circulate the tasting notes and food matches given below to all five-star hotels and restaurants across the main wine markets in the country. We hope it will help them arrive at more informed purchase decisions and give them the supreme confidence to promote the top-end Chilean wines a little harder.

The Tasting Panel

H.E. Jorge Heine, Ambassador of Chile in India

Roger Lienhard, General Manager, Hyatt Regency Delhi

Bill Marchetti, Corporate Executive Chef (European Cuisine), ITC Hotels

Thomas Abraham, EAM (F&B), Taj Palace , New Delhi

Fritz Hasselbach, Weingut Gunderloch, the only wine-maker in the world to get 100 points from Wine Spectator three times

Arun Sharma, Member, Executive Committee, Delhi Wine Club

Subhash Arora, President, Indian Wine Academy

Sourish Bhattacharyya, Executive Director, Indian wine Academy

Coordinators: Gonzalo Ibanez, Commercial Counsellor, Embassy of Chile in India; Parag Kulkarni, Pro Chile; Prasanjit Singh, EAM (F&B), Hyatt Regency Delhi.

Wine Selection Criteria

We only selected premium Chilean red wines that are available in India and are priced at US$15 and above in the US/UK retail market. Of the nine wines presented by the eight participating importers, the panel did not judge Casa Lapostolle Chardonnay 2001 because it was rating only reds and Cremaschi Furlotti Reserve 2003 Carmenere Maule Valley was tasted but not rated because it did not meet the selection criteria.

Participating Importers

All importers were invited to enter their premium Chilean wines that met our selection criteria. Those who entered their wines were Brindco, Sonarys, Global, Sovereign Impex, Moet Hennessy India , Ace Beverages and Rhine & Raavi.

Food Accompaniments

To help us arrive at appropriate matches with North Indian dishes, the chefs of Angan, Hyatt Regency Delhi's Indian restaurant, put together a sumptuous platter.

Blind Tasting

To ensure that the tasting was a truly blind exercise:

(1) Individual members had no idea of the tasting panel's composition till it met.

(2) Individual members, barring the representatives of the Embassy of Chile, Hyatt Regency Delhi and Indian Wine Academy , had no idea of the identities of the wines being tasted.

(3) The staff of Hyatt Regency Delhi decanted the wines in randomly numbered carafes 2 hours before the tasting panel met.

(4) No bottles were kept anywhere in the tasting room.

(5) The wines were served out of the carafes.

(6) Only Prasanjit Singh of the Hyatt Regency Delhi had the information sheet with the carafe numbers of the wines being poured.

(7) The identities of the wines were revealed to the panel only after the judging process was over and the members had signed and handed over their tasting sheets.

Featured Wines

ERRAZURIZ MAX RESERVA 2003 CABERNET SAUVIGNON

Ruby red, fairly closed bouquet with discernible hints of blackberry compote, powerful tannins, astringent, full-bodied, undistinguished after-taste. Needs to open up. Promises more than it delivers. Food Matches: Bharwan gucchi; pasta with pesto sauce; tuna; salmon; ham and salami.

ESCUDO ROJO BARON PHILIPPE DE ROTHSCHILD 2002 MAIPO VALLEY

Intense red, dark cherry aromas with hints of vanilla, ripe tannins, well-rounded with a reasonably long aftertaste. Cheap and cheerful, evolves beautifully in the glass. Food Matches: Peking duck; mutton biryani; spicy corn chaat in tart shells.

CABALLO LOCO NO. 7

Dark chocolate colour, spicy aromas with a hint of cedar, good structure, well-balanced, sumptuous mouthfeel with a touch of sweet vanilla, long finish. Wine with great staying power and aging potential. Food Matches: Roghan josh, barra kebabs, aged cheese and lamb roast.

DON MELCHOR 2001 CABERNET SAUVIGNON PUENTO ALTO

Dark red, blackberry with hints of vanilla, medium to full-bodied, soft tannins, pleasant fruit but harsh acids upset the balance, good mid-palate but medium end. Here's an easy drinking wine, so don't look for any complexity. Food Matches: Sautéed liver and kidney, zimikand kebab, emmental, duck roast with powerful sauce.

MONTES ALPHA M CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2000 SANTA CRUZ

APALTA SINGLE ESTATE

Inky colour, aromas that bring back memories of walking on mossy wood after rain, good tannic structure, well-rounded, nice legs, luscious mouthfeel and an aftertaste that lingers. Wine with character, complexity and refinement. Food Matches: Steaks and lamb stew. An ideal match for red meat.

TABALI RESERVA CARMENERE 2003 D.O. LINARI VALLEY

Dark chocolate colour, overdose of malolactic aromas, soft tannins, dull overcooked fruit, over-extracted, not much acid, dull mouthfeel, not a pleasant aftertaste. A quaffable wine. It is possible that this wine has suffered because of poor storage. Food Match: Pepperoni pizza. Doesn't work with North Indian dishes.

TARAPACA GRAN RESERVA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2001

MAIPO VALLEY

Dark red, berry aromas, soft and almost elegant tannins, well-extracted fruit, velvety texture, pleasant aftertaste but a tad short. A well-made, enjoyable wine. Food Matches: Mutton seekh kebabs; lamb chops (medium-done); dal makhni.

CREMASCHI FURLOTTI RESERVE 2003 CARMENERE MAULE VALLEY

Not rated. It did not meet the selection criteria.