May 18th, 2010.-

Today, the International Wine Challenge (IWC), one of the most important wine-concourses within the competitive English market, published its results online, just after announcing them during the London International Wine Fair this morning:

Our 2008 Castillo de Molina Shiraz, stemming from Maule Valley, attained a Gold Medal in this competition. This award reinforces San Pedro’s interest in searching for new and better origins for this vine along Chilean valleys, and to produce the best Syrahs in the country.

We are pleased to share this new acknowledgement with you!

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The Ecoglass bottles from Cristalchile, which San Pedro is launching for its brands Castillo de Molina (in its varieties Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay) and 35° South Reserva, are around 14% lighter (weighing 390gr or 420gr, as opposed to conventional ones of 460gr or 490gr).

San Pedro’s goal with this is twofold, firstly to help reduce the amount of glass and emissions, and secondly, to strike a balance between consumer market needs and environmental protection.

The use of cutting edge technology enables a uniform distribution of glass, what resulted in a diminution of raw material needed and the bottles’ weight, but displaying the same aesthetical and practical characteristics, this is, its attractiveness, design and resistance. Visible differences are almost imperceptible.

This change also helps with the worldwide trend among retailers, to reduce the volume of packaging derived waste. Another bonus is that lighter bottles lead to importers increasing the number of cases in containers, which in turn decreases carbon emissions both, in terms of production and transportation.

We are very glad to share this change with you, because it shows that starting from millimeters and grams you can generate a great difference and a great improvement for our world.
We hope you enjoy this news and help communicating them.

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We are pleased to report that 2007 Castillo de Molina Shiraz has just been highlighted with three stars in a ranking of the Top Reds of the Vintage 2007, prepared by winewriter Peter Richards, who specializes in Chilean wines for the English magazine, Decanter.

On his article about the special features of the Chilean wines from harvest 2007, published in the July edition of the prestigious British magazine, the expert describes Castillo de Molina Shiraz as an “Intense, minty, spicy red underscored by fresh acidity and red berry complexity”.

An important fact to keep in mind is that by itself, this wine, 2007 Castillo de Molina Shiraz, already compiles in its records three Gold Medals in different wine-competitions: the Challenge International du Vin 2009, the Mondial de Bruxelles 2009 and the Mondial de Bruxelles-Chile version year 2008, besides 90 points in the Descorchados Guide 2009 from the renowned Chilean critic Patricio Tapia, among other recognitions.  And the previous vintage –harvest 2006–, figured among other things, as the number 56 within the Top 100 Best Buys 2008 list from the American magazine, Wine Enthusiast.

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We are particularly proud to announce that Castillo de Molina Sauvignon Blanc from the Elqui Valley received the Decanter World Wine Awards 2009 Trophy for Best Chilean Sauvignon Blanc under 10 pounds. This is the second consecutive year that it has earned this prestigious trophy, and one of only six wines to have received consecutive trophies since the British competition began in 2004!

Prior to this achievement, the March edition of Wine Spectator, one of the most important wine magazines in the US, published a list of outstanding Chilean wines under the title “Bold Reds, Crisp Whites”, which gave 87 points to the 2006 Castillo de Molina Cabernet Sauvignon from Cachapoal. We were featured again, when the magazine’s May 31st edition included winewriter James Molesworth´s special on Chile, entitled “Chile’s one-two punch,” in which he commented that “as red wines continue to surge, whites show marked improvement.”

With respect to San Pedro wines, this renowned critic named the 2008 Castillo de Molina Sauvignon Blanc from Elqui among the most interesting examples of Chilean whites and included the 2006 Castillo de Molina Cabernet Sauvignon from Cachapoal among the 18 Top Value wines in the edition (with 87 points), wines highlighted by their excellent quality-price ratio.

Furthermore, in an attached piece entitled the “ABC’s of Chilean Wine” Molesworth presents Chile’s most important wine regions, and in discussing the Elqui Valley he says that “Viña San Pedro has taken the lead in developing vineyards here, notably for Sauvignon Blanc.”

On the European front, both the major French Challenge International du Vin 2009, and the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2009, one of the most important wine competitions in the world, have just released their results and coincided completely in their findings. Each competition awarded Gold Medals to both Castillo de Molina Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 and Castillo de Molina Shiraz 2007.

All of these distinctions recognize, reinforce, and communicate Castillo de Molina’s excellent quality in all its varieties.

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To start, our 35° South Varietal Sauvignon Blanc 2008 was distinguished as wine of the month and with a Best Value White by the English magazine Decanter, in its February edition. Being the only Chilean in this monthly selection, the magazine describes the wine as a “good-value, entry-level Sauvignon that could hold its head high in many surroundings. The nose is fairly four-square, with gooseberry and apple aromas, but the palate has nice texture and roundness, showing tropical fruit and crisp minerality. From now.”

In the United States, in turn, the renowned wine-publication, Wine Enthusiast awarded Best Buys to our wines Castillo de Molina Sauvignon Blanc Elqui 2008 (with 87 points) and 35° South Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2008 (with 86 points), in the edition to be published in March 2009. The Wine Enthusiast magazine qualifies as Best Buys wines which stand our for its high quality in relation to its prices.

At last, but not at least, in the selection among all its “buy recommended” that this magazine makes every yearend, our Castillo de Molina Shiraz 2006, was chosen within the top 100 Best Buys of the year 2008, occupying the number 56 in the list published last 31st of December.

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