Wine with Leslie: Consistency, good value and quality from Chile

"Every winery in the world these days talks about sustainability but Santa Rita was one of the first — they were talking about it in the 1990s"

The vineyards of San Vicente, Chile

This week I want to remind you that there are very good reasons why we buy 27% of our wine from Chile. Consistency and good value are the most obvious reasons but we should also include the word quality.

Even at entry-level, Chilean wines provide a lot of pleasure and the reliability factor keeps bringing customers back for more. At the medium and top Chile can rival wines from any country in the world. To take one example, I have always collected Santa Rita’s Casa Real and it has never disappointed. It is remarkably consistent and develops elegance and poise in the bottle while costing a lot less than Cru Classé Bordeaux — the wine it most resembles. Prices have risen a little in recent years but even at its current price of €85 it is a safer bet than almost all similarly priced Bordeaux.