2014 Casas del Bosque Pinot Noir Gran Reserva Casablanca Valley 750 ml

Grant Phelps’ 100-Million-Year-Old Granitic Soils and Extreme Cool-Climate Harvesting

On a clear day, the snow-capped Andes Mountains offer a breathtaking view on the descent into Santiago’s international airport. Blink and you’ll miss the dazzling array of colorful homes dotting the coastal town of Viña del Mar. It is here, each morning, that winemaker Grant Phelps rises to the lapping sounds of Pacific waves, before making the 40-minute drive southeast to Casas del Bosque, which has been named the #1 Chilean Wine Producer of Year — two years in a row — by London’s International Wine & Spirits Competition.

The winery sits on the western coastal side of Chile’s Casablanca Valley, which is markedly cooler than its hot interior. The Pacific’s icy Humboldt Current ushers in fog that blankets the vines at Casas del Bosque — sometimes for up to 36 hours. Under these extremely cool conditions, Phelps has managed to produce impeccably complex and vibrant Syrahs and Pinot Noirs that have caught the attention of major critics.

It was with all of this in mind that two years ago we visited the Casablanca Valley in late February during the southern hemisphere’s crush. Sauvignon Blanc was coming in off the vines, but nearly every other variety had weeks — or, in the case of Syrah and Pinot Noir, months — to go before harvesting.

“It’s cooler here than even Sonoma Coast or the Russian River Valley,” Phelps told us as he led us through Casas del Bosque’s own-rooted, phylloxera-free Pinot Noir vines. Grant pointed to the ground. “You’re standing on 100-million-year-old granitic soils.” He picked up two medium-sized pieces and smashed them together. They pulverized into a cloud of dust. “That’s why our wines have incredible minerality.”

The 2014 growing season in Chile yielded an excellent, classic vintage, with one unfortunate factor — damaging frosts during fruit-set slashed yields in half around the valley. Undeterred, Grant said he was actually excited about a smaller crop, and reminded us that “there is no other place on planet Earth where Pinot Noir can achieve such an even-keeled phenolic ripeness, while maintaining such bracing acidity.”

If you were to compare Pinot Noir from the west-side, extreme cool-climate Casablanca Valley to its California or French counterparts, the best comparisons would be to Sonoma Coast or to the northern Côte de Nuits. Chile’s Casablanca Valley is as magnificent as Sonoma, with chilly ocean waters on one side and mountains on the other. Dramatic diurnal temperature swings bring high-acid, small-berry clusters to superb natural ripeness, while maintaining fresh acidity. And Casablanca Valley shares with its French counterpart mineral-rich soils that yield exceptional and long-lived Burgundian Pinot Noirs, infused with dazzling, almost saline-like flavors.

The one distinct difference? You won’t be paying Grand Cru prices for top-tier Casablanca Pinot Noir.

Former Wine Spectator bureau chief James Suckling recently honed in on the 2014 Casas del Bosque Pinot Noir Gran Reserva, calling it “dense and rich,” “beautiful,” and awarded it 93 points. Deep, beautiful ruby in color. Copious aromas of dark chocolate-covered cherries, dried rose petals, and new-wood cedar abound. Flavors of sour cherries, red currants and cedar spice underscore a tight, juicy, and delicate wine, with firm tannin backbone. A terrifically delineated wine that conveys distinct cool-climate character. With notes of cedar and minerals, the finish is vibrant and sneaky in length.

Only $15.99/bottle for a 93-pointer from the two-time #1 Chilean Winery of the Year? No other New World Pinot Noir, drinking this beautifully, comes close to this price. Shipping included on 6.