You probably expected our No. 1 wine from Chile this year to be one of the highly coveted icon wines, but we decided instead to honor the biodynamically produced Emiliana Valle de Colchagua Los Robles Estate Gê 2018, which highlights the country’s growing interest in organic and biodynamic viticulture as well as Rhone-inspired wines. We rated 1,088 bottles from Chile this year, our biggest review ever from the South American nation.
A blend of syrah with carmenere and cabernet sauvignon, the Gê 2018 offers layer upon layer of black fruit with spicy, peppery and meaty notes, combined with an irresistibly velvety texture and prolonged finish. Like many of the wines on our list, it offers a high quality-to-price ratio, retailing at around $55 – compared with an average of $111 for the rest of our Top 10s. But out of our Top 100 Chilean wines, 32 cost $20 or less.
Emiliana’s rise to first place and its consistent excellence (the Gê 2017 took fourth place last year) is well-deserved recognition for Chile’s biodynamic wine scene. Emiliana is the top producer of organic and biodynamic wines in Chile and has been at it since 1998, with Gê becoming the first certified biodynamic wine in South America in 2003 – its inaugural vintage.