Chile’s Icon Wines Sweep 5 out of the 6 Top Positions in Blind Tasting in Hong Kong
Many of Hong Kong and Asia’s top wine tasters including sommeliers, journalists and wine buyers converged at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on Wednesday 13 th October of 2010, to participate in Hong Kong’s recreation of the landmark Berlin Tasting. Its purpose – to allow the opportunity for local palates to evaluate the world-class status of top Chilean wines tasted blind alongside wines acknowledged as being among the very best in the world. Read More >
Seventy two panelists blind-tasted ten wines, without any clue as to the origin, variety or vintage of the wines. The results, calculated by an independent body, placed the Chilean wines in the top 5 out of 6 positions. Only one French wine ranked among the top six, while the iconic wines from Chile dominated the top positions.
The Hong Kong Berlin Tasting was hosted by the President of Viña Errázuriz, Eduardo Chadwick. Joining him was Jeannie Cho Lee, the first Asian Master of Wine, who chaired this morning-long tasting. After the results were announced, Jeannie commented, “I thought the event was a great success. I was surprised by the results because the Hong Kong market is so attuned to French wines that I was expecting the Bordeaux first growths to place much higher than they did. The Errázuriz family wines won a lot of respect from the audience today, by going up against the very best and ranking higher by the local palates. I congratulate Eduardo, not just for having the vision to produce such fantastic iconic wines, but also for forging a strong legacy, not just for Errázuriz but for the whole of Chile. This is truly a great achievement.”
Eduardo Chadwick was thrilled with the results and commented, “I believe Chile is recognized as a viticultural paradise and this tasting result is a testament to our capability of creating world-class wines. Our wines have shown consistently high quality over the past six years of holding twelve Berlin Tastings around the world. I am delighted that the Hong Kong audience today has recognized the inherent quality of our top wines from Chile.”
Grant D. Baird, Frederik Balfour, Barry Burton, Shaun Campbell, Janelle Carrigan, Hubert Chabot, Louie Chan, Park Chan, Simon Chan, Clarence Chan, Vivian Chen, Alex Cheung, Ron Chiu, Byran Chiu, Keith Chow, Nelson Chow, Nelson Chow, Jordan Choy, Reg Chua, Shirley Chung, Ellen Coetzee, Andrew Dembina, Nicolas Deneux, Eric Desgoutte, Christopher Dewolf, Paul Dickson, Peter Draminsky, Richard Ekkebus, Ivan Fernie, Philip Fung, Michael Groll, Alice Ho, Thien Huynh, Cordelia Ip, Elaine Joe, Alice Kan, Christina Ko, Wilson Kwok, Alex Lai, Miranda Lam, Joe Lam, Ronny Lau, Rebecca Leung, Frankie Leung, Alfred Leung, Le Min Lim, Lilian Liu, Paul Kay, Keith Massey, Kenneth J. Mcnamee, Debra Meiburg Mw, David Micah, Mischa Moselle, Marc-David Nathan, Kellie Ng, Danilo Nicoletti, Lynne O’donnell, Christophe Orlarei, Tom Otley, Jeremy Pang, Herve Pennequin, Nicolas Pierron, David Pilling, Justin Pitt, Martin Rahn, Sean Robson, Claudio Salgado, Tersina Shieh, Nelson Siu, Nicholas Siu, Meimei Song, Suzanne Storms, Lau Chi Sun, Simon Tam, Eric Ting, Jiuliano Ungaro, Rolf Von Weissenfluh, Edwina Wong, Winnie Wong, Jessica Wong, Kk Wong, Kevin Wong, Eric Yip, Kevin Yu, Leung.
[Ihave] …joined in many Berlin Tastings in Asia, and it’s very clear that many of Eduardo’s wines are of First Growth or Grand Cru standard. From the long- established Errázuriz to the newly acclaimed Viñedo Chadwick, from single vineyard Seña to experimental new vineyards in Aconcagua Costa, Eduardo is producing consistent and ever-improving wine… Thank you, Eduardo, you made our wine world more interesting and colourful!
I don’t think he was expecting at all to do as well as he did, but I think having done it, it was an educational experience further than he had planned, because instead of just educating the 40 or 50 people in the room, he educated the entire world.
When Eduardo and I first discussed the concept of this blind tasting format, I told him to brace himself for disappointment, especially given the popularity of Bordeaux reds in this part of the world. I was completely wrong in my warning and I am truly surprised by the results…
Until that point only Eduardo knew what he had in his hands. Today the whole world knows… By reaching indisputable recognition in the world wine scene, Eduardo Chadwick’s wines have clearly demonstrated Chile’s tremendous vitivinicultural potential and have helped Chilean wines earn greater space and credibility in the international market.
These tastings definitely have had an impact on how many influential members of the American wine trade view Chile today. So I see them as invaluable to promoting Chile’s well- deserved image as a source for world-class wine that can sit alongside the best that the rest of the world has to offer.
One enterprising Chilean wine producer, Eduardo Chadwick of Viña Errázuriz, has managed to organise a similar evolutionary milestone for the Chilean wine industry—or at least of his own wines… at what will doubtless come to be known in the history of Chilean wine as the “Berlin Tasting”