BudBurst

Wish it had been in Chile but actually took place in North London at Lord's cricket ground. It's always quite daunting not just because of the number of wines and stands - where to start - but because despite it's Eden status in viticultural terms, the mass production and crippling price points it has been subject to in the UK mean that Chile is responsible for a lot of the numbingly bland alcoholic grape juice that makes me roll my eyes in anguish.

Now it is true that I came across a few of these among the room - are these crowd pleasers? I guess people are buying them, but why? - however, with the help of some outstanding recommendations from colleagues and pure luck I found a couple of producers whose entire range reflected everything that is good about Chile and its wines.

Vina Leyda was the first and I hardly know what to write here as I tried their 8 wines and thought they were all superb. The Sauvignon Blanc Garuma Vineyard 2006 was fermented in oak which is a very tricky thing to pull off with this variety but was classic, fresh, with great texture and long length. 

The 3 chardonnays were all about the fruit and manipulating the fermentation to produce richness and complexity without oak dominance. So battonage (stirring of the fine lees to accentuate the creamy yeast) gave great depth to the Classico Reserva 2006 and wild yeasts gave the Lot 5 2004 a gorgeous layering of fruit.

Similarly the reds stood out for their purposefulness. All of them were rich and intense but they were all tightly contained and structured, there was absolutely no flabbiness or high alcohol perception which so often spoiled other wines in the room.  The Pinot Noir Las Brisas 2005 was spicy and complex but very fine and made with a light touch. The Pinot Noir Lot 21 2005 was rich with a tight coil and a great future.

The Cabernet Sauvignon Classico Reserva 2005 was classic Cabernet, herby and minty and easy to drink. The Single Vineyard 2004 was really special. Inky, minty, cheesy nose, sweetly seductive with grown-up herbaceousness. Gorgeous. The winemaker Rafael Urrejola  knows what he is doing and is ambitious for his wines finding a consistent path between the Old and New world styles.

I'll spend some time tomorrow on the other domaine I particularly like as well as one I don't...