South American Tasting Melbourne 2023

When South American wine boomed in this country we were flooded with cheap, factory produced Malbecs and clout chasing icon wines from Argentina and Chile. It wasn't that the wines were especially bad, in fact most were quite well made, but for some reason they seemed to lack a little excitement. A little character, it all seemed a bit too slick and homogeneous.

Since then, the landscape has changed dramatically, and we are seeing more and more thrilling wines from Argentina, Chile and Uruguay than ever before. A tapestry of fascinating topographies and a sub-regional focus is proving that wines of South America can no longer be pigeonholed into a one-size, fits all paradigm. It's not all malbec and cabernet with tannat, bonarda, pinot noir, pais and many others to be found in the kaleidoscopic of the new South America.

Today, many wines are coming from small, young, quality focused producers looking to strip back oak and extraction and let their wonderful vineyards show themselves. There is a wonderful new generation of winemakers and vignerons that are re-establishing long forgotten parcels of vines, establishing their own independent labels and bringing new ideas and tastes onto the scene.