Casa Silva Chilean Wine
Last week saw our Chilean Wine Tasting at the shop with guest host Johnny Bingham who represents one of Chile's best known wine making families. The Silva family only began producing wine in 1997, but have had meteoric success in what is a relatively short period of time in wine making terms! We first tried the Silva family wines in 2013 and we knew on the spot that we had to get behind their wines. You'll find a good range of their wines in the shop so there's plenty of choice.
Johnny took us through eight of their wines on the night, starting with three of their white wines, the Reserva Viognier (£10.95), Cool Coast Sauvignon Blanc (£14.95) and the Angostura Chardonnay (12.95). The Cool Coast Sauvignon has been called "Chile's Cloudy Bay" and we think it is just as good as New Zealand's iconic Sauvignon.
Casa Silva also produce a Cool Coast Pinot Noir (£14.95), which was the first of the red wines after the whites. The Cool Coast name refers to the Silva's vineyard of the cool coastal hills of the Colchagua Valley, 5 miles away from the Pacific Ocean. The Humboldt Current brings cold ocean water from Antarctica which creates heavy fog during the day in summertime and keeps the maximum temperature below 26ºC, thereby tempering the ripening of the grapes through the season. This Pinot Noir was a big hit on the night, particularly with guests who didn't often plump for this varietal.
Next up were three Casa Silva Carménères. The Reserva Carménère (£10.95) was first up, followed by their Los Lingues Carménère (£12.95) and finally the Microterroir Carménère (£29.50). Carménère is a popular grape in Chile, but not most people's first choice here in the UK which is a real shame as it has a lot to offer. Carménère was taken to Chile from Bordeaux and is one of the six grape types permitted in Bordeaux, but is very rarely grown or used there these days. Chile is where it's at for Carménère today and the tasting group were instant converts!
We finished the night with a sweetie, the Casa Silva Late Harvest Semillon (£8.50) which we served with Mademoiselle de Margaux La Griotte Kirsch (£12.95), a perfect combination and a perfect way to end the evening! Our next tasting dates are all online here.
Don't forget, all our wines are available to buy online and can be incorporated into fantastic hampers in our create your own hamper section!