Chile

When winemakers die, they dream of going to Chile. For here you have the perfect climate for wine-growing: the combination of sheltering peaks on one side and a cooling ocean on the other means that right along the Andes it is possible to find cool temperatures, plenty of sunshine and abundant water from melting snow. Chile remains virtually pest and disease free - in the vineyards at least!

The best Chilean wines have a clarity or flawlessness of flavour. Almost every vintage is a great vintage. The classic areas are Maipo, Maule, Rapel and Curico, collectively known as the Central Valley. Tarapaca and Los Rosales are our favourite producers there. We've also been impressed by developments in cool Casablanca (perfect Sauvignon country), warm Colchagua (brilliant for Cabernet and Merlot and due, we're sure, to become very fashionable) and, most recently, the dramatic Elqui valley, where grapes are grown at almost impossibly high altitudes above the Atacama Desert. Just so you know ... we got there first.