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Chile's Odfjell Vineyards Makes Its Debut With Two Reds
The recent spate of new wine brands from South America continues, with the release of the Armador line from newcomer Odfjell Vineyards.
Both debut wines from this project, a 2000 Cabernet and 2000 Merlot, scored 87 points on Wine Spectator's 100-point scale, and will be priced at about $10 per bottle.
Although the wines are just being unveiled, the winery has been in the works for some time. Odfjell Vineyards is owned by Dan Odfjell, whose Norwegian shipping business brought him into contact with Chile in the '60s and '70s. Odfjell purchased property in the Maipo Valley in 1982, and eventually planted vines there in the early 1990s.
Odfjell's son Laurence, a graduate of the Yale School of Architecture, designed a gravity-flow winery -- the first of its type to be built in South America. Construction was started in 1995 and completed in time for the 1998 harvest. (The 1998 and '99 wines were trial runs and were not released.) Laurence has since helped design Kendall-Jackson's winery facilities in South America.
Making the wines is Arnaud Hereau, a Bordeaux-trained enologist who now lives in Chile, along with California winemaker Paul Hobbs. Prior to Odfjell, Hereau had worked at Château Carbonnieux in Pessac-Léognan. Recently, Hobbs has become increasingly busy in South America, as part-owner of Argentina's Viña Cobos and also as consultant for Chile's MontGras and Argentina's Bodegas San Telmo.
Production of the 2000 wines totaled 11,100 cases for the Cabernet and 485 cases for the Merlot, with some grapes coming from Odfjell's estate vineyards and some purchased from other sources.
Odfjell is also preparing to release another wine, called Asgard. A blend of Cabernet, Carmenère and Carignane, Asgard is scheduled for release in 2002. No price has been set yet.
# # #Read James Molesworth's recent tasting reports on South American wines:
March 31, 2001
Coming of Age in South AmericaMarch 31, 2000
South America's Peaks and ValleysRead recent news about new South American wines:
May 9, 2001
Baron Philippe de Rothschild Releases Another Chilean WineApril 16, 2001
Catena Enters Joint Venture in Argentina With Domaines Barons de RothschildMarch 14, 2001
Catena Completes Winery in Argentina; Releases New High-End CabernetFeb. 1, 2001
Two New Wine Projects Coming From South AmericaOct. 13, 2000
Laura Catena Launches New Label Oct. 10, 2000
Chile's Viña Santa Rita Expands, Plans New High-End Cabernet Oct. 7, 2000
Chile's Concha y Toro Releases Two New Brands Aug. 17, 2000
Two Chilean Wineries Are on the Move
