August, 2011.-

The British magazine published on its August edition a special feature about Chile and Argentina, entitled “Finding El Dorado”, on which Richards qualified our country as “a viticultural paradise”, for the diversity in vines and origins it offers, and chose the Top 15 best wineries, out from the over 200 existing in the country.

Regarding San Pedro, the English expert highlighted the vast improvement of quality undertaken along the last decade, in all of this winery’s lines of wines, varieties and vineyards, as well as the incorporation of new origins for its fruit, which in his view has had “dramatic effect”… In the best sense of the word.

“The most notable is Elqui, where San Pedro now makes outstanding Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc”, stresses Richards, precisely granting 4 stars, this is, a highly recommendable qualification, to the wine Castillo de Molina Sauvignon Blanc from Elqui Valley, vintage 2010, saying:

“Consistently one of Chile’s best-value Sauvignon Blancs, this comes bursting with tangy flavours of gooseberries, tomato leaf and ripe citrus fruit. A fantastic wine for its price”.

Undoubtedly, a great example of the “unbounded creativity” highlighted by Richards on his article.

June, 2011.-

In brief: Our 1865 Limited Edition Blend 2007 has just attained 94 points on Wine&Spirits magazine’s June edition, which published its rankings of the 100 Top Values of the Year and the Year’s Best, featuring as the best score among the new Chilean releases. This, right after –as we informed before-, vintage 2008 of this wine was awarded the Regional Trophy Chilean Red Blend over GBP10 at the Decanter World Wine Awards’11.

In turn, 1865 Single Vineyard Syrah 2007 was reviewed with 93 points on Wine&Spirits February’s edition, also appearing the same month with four stars and marked as a Best Value in the English magazine Decanter, in an article about the Top 50 Syrahs below GBP25, that included Chile within the 5 main Syrah producing regions in the world.

Furthermore, harvest 2008 of this wine was qualified in April with 91 points by American publication Wine Enthusiast, which bestowed the same score and additionally highlighted our wine 1865 Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2010 as Editor’s Choice.

Another outstanding case is our Kankana del Elqui, Solar N°10, which first vintage, year 2007, obtained 90 points in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate; was highlighted with 91 points and as one of the Top Chilean Wines in WineSpectator’s March issue and has just added some 92 points more stemming from Wine&Spirits’ June’s edition.

May 17^th of 2010.-

Adding recognition to the 90 points and excellent reviews awarded by both most relevant wine-writers from American magazines, WineEnthusiast and Wine Spectator, now, the English Decanter magazine published on its June issue the article entitled “From Zero to Hero” written by renowned wine broadcaster, writer and director of the Winchester Wine School, Peter Richards, who highlighted 1865 Limited Edition Syrah within his list of the best Chilean Syrahs with a maximum score of five Stars.

On his three-page article, Richards tells the story of the first steps, the evolution and exciting present the Syrah is experimenting in Chile, specially focusing on the amazing regional diversity this country is able to deliver, mentioning Colchagua, Leyda, Elqui and other valleys and sub-valleys. In this context, he says “this debut Elqui Syrah from San Pedro is captivating. As with other styles from this region, the emphasis is on a northern Rhone style, especially in the aromatics, with black pepper and charred fruit notes. The palate is oaky in its youth and seriously impressive: savoury, deep, not all that obvious.”

Richards ends his note alluding to another San Pedro’s Syrah which sounded loud at the beginning of this year. “The reality of Syrah in Chile is a fast-evolving one. At the latest Wines of Chile Awards in January, San Pedro won Wine of the Show for its 1865 Single Vineyard Syrah from Cachapoal. It was a reminder, (….) that Syrah and Chile have a long way yet to go together.”

And of course, San Pedro projects to leave several marks more on that road!

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 pleased to announce two new very important acknowledgements to add to the list of those already attained in this young year: In its monthly section on the best wines worldwide, Steven Spurrier, Editor of the British magazine Decanter –the most prestigious in the United Kingdom–, and who also chairs the Japan Wine Challenge competition and, of course, the Decanter World Wine Awards, announced: “This month: a brace each from France, Chile and Spain, featuring a sublime Oloroso, a Cotes du Rhone that punches above its weight and a crisp Sauvignon.” Referring with this latter words to our 1865 Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2008, which Spurrier qualified as the “Best New World White”, and described as “From cool-climate vineyards just 4km from the Pacific Ocean, this is the second vintage by head winemaker Marco Puyo: white flowers lead to precise yet fleshy fruit with a mineral finish. Complex and long”.

At the same time, Kim Marcus, Managing Editor from the American Wine Spectator magazine, and responsible for tasting Austria, Greece, southern France and the table wines of Portugal, praised our Castillo de Molina Sauvignon Blanc Elqui 2007. In a column where the magazine’s editors talk about what they are tasting on their free time, Marcus categorized this wine as a complete revelation. “I approached this Sauvignon Blanc with some trepidation, because Chilean whites have not impressed me in the past. But this wine from Viña San Pedro was a revelation. It was very minerally and zesty, with a rich viscosity”, he stated.

Marcus even commented on the delight of one of his friends, who normally preferred reds to whites, but was a quick converted to the wine. “It is the first white I’ve ever liked so much. It is light, dry and very smooth—without a lot of fruitiness “, she said.

Besides agreeing with his friend, the winewriter scored this wine with 89 points and celebrated its price, commenting it “costs just” US$13 a bottle.

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