Andes Plateau, “700 High Altitude” Cabernet Blend For Cheap

Andes Plateau, “700 High Altitude” Cabernet Blend

On the one hand, I’m not surprised that today’s wine is such a great value: Chilean wines, and especially Chilean wines based on Cabernet Sauvignon, have a reputation for over-delivering. But Felipe Uribe’s Andes Plateau is on another level, literally: This is “heroic viticulture,” Chilean-style, as Uribe has made it his mission to remind everyone who Argentina shares the Andes Mountains with.

The stated goal of Andes Plateau is to source fruit from vineyards perched at 700 meters and higher, to showcase an unseen—or under-seen, at least—side of Chilean viticulture. The heart of Chilean wine production is its network of sun-splashed, east-west river valleys—home to so many famous Bordeaux château owners these days it’s hard to keep track—but Uribe has ventured further afield and the results are stunning. Based on Cabernet Sauvignon but incorporating an eclectic mix of supporting varieties, Uribe’s “700” not only gives a nod to classically structured Left Bank Bordeaux but to an assortment of other reference points, including the dark-berried, deeply mineral reds of France’s Savoie. In addition to being an exciting, new-generation Chilean wine, I can’t stress enough how much pedigree and nuance this wine delivers at this price. It is a seriously impressive bottle from an under-explored, unspoiled place: It will blow the doors off countless reds costing twice as much!

An international master of cool-climate viticulture, Uribe spent time in the coastal vineyards of Sonoma and at William Fèvre’s Chilean outpost before starting his boutique Andes Plateau project in 2013. Uribe traveled the country in search of the perfect terrain, settling on an Andes Mountain site in the Maipo Valley at—you guessed it—700 meters above sea level. There, he knew he could produce the restrained and refreshing wines of his dreams. Chile is not as well-known for high-altitude wines as neighboring Argentina because its staggering, rocky slopes are difficult to farm. But Uribe wasn’t one to back down from a challenge, especially when the conditions were this promising—the steep slopes, the winning high-altitude combo of abundant sunshine and cooling winds, the plentiful rainfall, and the free-draining, mineral-rich soils offered everything he needed to make bright, high-acid, low-alcohol wines.

The aptly named 700 was the first wine in Uribe’s growing range. An early harvest of low-yielding fruit for the 2017 ensured maximum freshness for the hand-picked, carefully sorted grapes. Made with exclusively native yeast, the steel-fermented Cabernet Sauvignon made up 84% of the blend in this vintage, while the balance of 12% Syrah, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Carignan were stomped by foot to avoid over-extraction of tannin. After 15 months in neutral French oak, the 700 was ready to go. 

Uribe has achieved exactly what he set out to with this lively, nuanced wine. The juicy palate in this ruby-red blend expresses ripe blackberry, red cherry, raspberry, blueberry fruit tempered with a wave of mouth-watering acidity. Savory spice, earthy iodine and graphite, and fragrant violet petal add nuance while a note of luscious cassis-filled chocolate truffles lends richness and depth. The ultra-smooth tannins are barely noticeable—there’s plenty of structure to allow this versatile red to pair with a wide range of foods. Oxtail ragù over gnocchi would be an ideal match for 700’s vibrant acidity and complex mountain flavors. Serve this high-value, high-flavor wine at 60-65 degrees in Bordeaux stems any night of the week, both now and over the next 5-7 years.