TASTING NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND - The Wines of Terra Andina

Article and
Tasting Notes by
George Heritier

2007 Terra Andina Cabernet Sauvignon Our good friend Judie Murdoch from the southeastern Michigan distributor Wines of Distinction stopped by a few weeks ago with some samples from a relatively new and little known Chilean winery known as Terra Andina. She told us that the wines were selling very well in the area, and that they offered great QPR (Quality Price Ratio). We tried the wines, and damned if she wasn’t right. The three we tried, one from each of the price and quality levels produced all delivered the goods, and when you figure that the entry level Varietal range sells for around $7.99, that’s hard to beat for accessible, ripe, fruit forward, New World styled wines. We decided that these guys needed some further investigation, so we rounded up more bottles and spent some time with them a few weeks ago, and by and large, we liked what we tasted.

Terra Andina’s website doesn’t tell much more about this producer than mentioning that it was purchased in 2001 by the Claro Wine Group and that the model is to blend grapes from “different valleys with different micro-climates and soil conditions," in order to take "full advantage of the richness and diversity of Chile’s different wine growing regions." Winemaker Oscar Salas has worked at Santa Rita and Cousino Macul in Chile and Hartford Family Winery in the US before taking over at Terra Andina, where he exercises “innovative skills and ultimate technology.”

We tried 11 Terra Andina wines, and here are our impressions.

2007 Terra Andina Sauvignon Blanc Valle Central, 13% alc., $7.99: Medium straw color, with somewhat grassy (in a good way) grapefruit and gooseberry flavors and aromas shaded with a note of lime. Medium to medium full body, with good cut, balance, intensity and varietal character. Find this wine

2007 Terra Andina Chardonnay Valle Central, 13.5% alc., $7.99: Medium straw color, with canned peas, green bean and pineapple flavors and aromas; the wine is a little tart in the mouth, and that’s not a bad thing. Medium full bodied, with good balance and acids. Find this wine
Both whites offer great value and receive received essentially the same treatment. Stems were removed, and the berries were crushed and protected from the air using antioxidant sulfur dioxide and inert gas blanketing. The must was cooled to reduce the temperature immediately after crushing to maintain flavors and aroma and reduce the level of SO2. Pneumatic pressing separated two press fraction. The juice clarification was by gravity at 10ºC with pectic enzymes. Cool fermentation at 12ºC using refrigerated stainless steel tank jackets. Non-malolactic fermentation. The wine was kept in contact with its lees, with battonage during 1-3 months at 10ºC.

2006 Terra Andina Merlot Valle Central, 14% alc., $7.99: Clean, dark color, with sea air, red currant and raspberry aromatics accented with well integrated sweet oak that follow through in the rich, ripe and round flavors. Medium full to full bodied, with good balance and the structure to drink over the next few years. Find this wine
Stems were removed with partial crushing of the berries. The must was cooled to reduce the temperature immediately after crushing to maintain flavors and aromas and reduce the level of SO2. Cool pre-fermentation maceration for 48 hour to extract primary flavors and color. Fermented in stainless steel tanks with jackets at 25°C. Total maceration period between 15 to 25 days. Natural malolactic fermentation at 16°C. 20% of the wine was aged in French and American oak for 2 months.

2007 Terra Andina Cabernet Sauvignon Valle Central, 13.5% alc., $7.99: Deep, dark color, with bright, ripe black currant, blackberry and black cherry character spiced up with toasty oak and a subtle note of cola-root beer. Moderately structured for a few years at most in the cellar, this is a drink-me-now kind of wine, just short of being too ripe and too oaky for my tastes, but offering great QPR for New World palates. Find this wine

2006 Terra Andina Carmenere Valle Central, 14.2% alc., $7.99: Good dark color, with rich black currant and blackberry flavors and aromas; good depth and structure, and fairly ripe in a good way. Generous and enjoyable, with no excess anything. Another great QPR here. Find this wine
The Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere receive essentially the same treatment. Stems were removed with partial crushing of the berries. The must was cooled to reduce the temperature immediately after crushing to maintain flavors and aromas and reduce the level of SO2. Cool pre-fermentation maceration for 48 hour to extract primary flavors and color. Fermented in stainless steel tanks with jackets at 25°C. Total maceration period between 20 to 25 days. Natural malolactic fermentation at 16°C. Press wine cuts: membrane press was used and the pressing wines from 200 to 600 mbar (units of pressure) have been added to enhance richness and body. 20% of the wine was aged for two months with a variety of different toast French oak. No fining and cool tartrate stabilization. Filtered just by pressure filters with large diatomaceous (or kieselgur).

~ 2006 Terra Andina Pinot Noir Reserva Valle Central, 13.5% alc., $10.49: Clean ruby color, with rich, somewhat earthy black cherry and raspberry flavors and aromas. There’s no excessive oak character to this, reflecting the second and third use barrels. Solid and intense; medium full bodied and substantially structured for three to five years of cellaring, and probably the one red in the bunch that needs it the most. Find this wine
Stems were removed with partial crushing of the berries. The must was cooled to reduce the temperature immediately after crushing to maintain flavors and aromas and reduce the level of SO2. Cool pre-fermentation maceration for two weeks to extract primary flavors and color. Fermented in stainless steel tanks with jackets between 20- 25°C. Total maceration period 25 days. Natural malolactic fermentation at 16°C. Unfined and unfiltered. 100 % of the wine was kept in French oak barrels of second/third use for a period of 10 months.

2006 Terra Andina Carmenere Reserva Valle Central, 14% alc., $10.49: Good, dark color, with smoke and tar over deep, dark black fruit on the nose, echoing and expanding with toast and coffee in the mouth. Full bodied and well structured, with impressive depth for so few dollars, and it smoothes out nicely with some air. Find this wine
Stems were removed with partial crushing of the berries. The must was cooled to reduce the temperature immediately after crushing to maintain flavors and aromas and reduce the level of SO2. Cool pre-fermentation maceration for 48 hour to extract primary flavors and color. Fermented in stainless steel tanks with jackets at 25°C. Total maceration period between 20 to 25 days. Natural malolactic fermentation at 16°C. Press wine cuts: membrane press was used and the pressing wines from 200 to 600 mbar have been added to enhance richness and body. 80% of the wine has been aged in French and American Oak for a period of 6 to 10 months. No fining and cool tartrate stabilization. Filtered just by pressure filters with large diatomaceous (or kieselgur).

2006 Terra Andina Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva Valle Central, 14% alc., $10.49: Deep, dark color, and not giving much more than a little dusty toast, coffee, black fruit and sea air on the nose at first. In the mouth, there’s a good dose of toast, coffee, black currant, blackberry and even a hint of blueberry. Well balanced, with good structure, length and just a little less concentration than the Carmenere Reserva. This has an appealing, harmonious personality, so drink now and over the next three to five years. Find this wine
Stems were removed with partial crushing of the berries. The must was cooled to reduce the temperature immediately after crushing to maintain flavors and aromas and reduce the level of SO2. Cool pre-fermentation maceration for 72 hour to extract primary flavors and color. Fermented in stainless steel tanks with jackets at 25°C. Total maceration period between 20 to 35 Days. Natural malolactic fermentation at 16°C. Unfined and unfiltered. 80 % of the wine was kept in 70 % French oak barrels and 30 % American oak barrels for a period of 10 months. ~
The Terra Andina Altos line definitely fits the definition of what I like to call (with tongue firmly implanted in cheek) “breakfast wine,” with their obvious toast and coffee characteristics. We’ve covered this style in a previous report, and the following three wines would have deserved inclusion had we tasted them at that time. All received the same treatment.
Stems were removed with partial crushing of the berries. The must was cooled to reduce the temperature immediately after crushing to maintain flavors and aromas and reduce the level of SO2. Cool pre-fermentation maceration for 72 hours to extract primary flavors and color. Fermented in stainless steel tanks with jackets at 25°C. Total maceration period between 20 to 35 days. Natural malolactic fermentation at 16°C. Unfined and unfiltered. 12 - 14 Months French Oak And 30% American Oak.

2007 Terra Andina Carmenere - Carignan Altos Valle Central, 60% Carmenere, 40% Carignan, 14% alc., $17.99: Deep, dark color, with coffee and toast over a rich core of black currant, black plum and blackberry, all shaded with a little cedar; there’s some obvious oak here that may integrate with time. Very smooth on the palate, with deceptive structure for some cellar time to soak up the oak. Dense and intense, and if it doesn’t show any varietal characteristics to speak of (it IS an off-the-beaten-path kind of blend, after all), it’s very well made and well priced for New World palates. Find this wine

2004 Terra Andina Cabernet Franc - Merlot Altos Valle Central, 70% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot, 14% alc., $17.99: Deep, dark color, with deep, dark black currant, blackberry, toast and coffee in both flavor and aroma; impressive depth and structure; fairly ripe and fairly earthy. Nice stuff. Find this wine

2005 Terra Andina Syrah - Cabernet Sauvignon Altos Valle Central, 75% Syrah, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13.5% alc., $17.99: Like purple ink in the glass, with a toast and coffee black fruit nose; big black plum, black currant and blackberry flavors with the breakfast stuff playing subordinate roles. Full bodied and substantial structure for three to five years in the cellar and more. Good stuff and an interesting blend. Find this wine

As we’ve indicated, these wines are not for those who are looking for small batch, artisanal Old World style wines. But, if you like yours fruit forward, ripe and kissed with toasty oak, the wines of Terra Andina offer terrific value at every price point.

Terra Andina wines imported by Terra Andina USA, Manhasset, NY

Reporting from Day-twah,

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