Despite the attention focused on Carménère, a grape originally from Bordeaux but now found rarely outside of Chile, Cabernet Sauvignon remains Chile’s strongest grape (and wine) in my 
view. Cousino-Macul, one of Chile’s best producers, has made their great reputation on their lovely Cabernets. When Luis and Isidora Cousino founded the winery in 1856, they planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot brought from Bordeaux. Cousino-Macul’s Antiguas Reservas Cabernet and their Finis Terrae bottlings consistently rank with Chile’s best wines. At about $17 and $22 a bottle, respectively, they remain among the world’s great wine bargains.
As with wineries the world over, Cousino-Macul jumped on the 
Chardonnay bandwagon in 1982 when it first released their Antiguas Reservas Chardonnay. For twenty years, it lagged well behind the distinctiveness of its Cabernet brother. But that is now changing and if they keep producing Chardonnays like the 2006, they could become as well-known for that varietal as they are for Cabernet.
I usually avoid speaking of the technical side of winemaking, but in this instance, Matias Rivera, their new winemaker (as of the 2004 vintage) has made such a startling change–for the better–with their Chardonnay that it needs to be highlighted. Since he took the reigns, he has changed the style of the wine by altering winemaking (the grapes still come from their estate in the Maipo Valley, an area ironically known for Cabernet, not Chardonnay) to make a more graceful wine.
He’s made a conscious decision to steer away from the heavy, 
overt style of Chardonnay and to make a wine full of finesse and class. For twenty years, until 2003, this wine was fermented entirely in American oak barrels and 2/3rds of it underwent malolactic fermentation, a technique that minimizes crispness and enhances the butteriness of a wine. The result, more often than not, was a wine that was devoid of subtlety and hit you in the face.
Every year since Rivera has been in charge, he has reduced the amount of barrel influence and malolactic fermentation. With the 2006 vintage, Rivera fermented only 10% of the wine in used French oak barrels and allowed 8 percent of it to undergo malolactic fermentation. As a result, he has produced a Chardonnay that complements food instead of overwhelming it. The 2006 bottling ($14, Billington Imports) is very fresh, without a trace of heaviness, although it also shows a subtle creaminess that enhances the melon-like fruit flavors. The lemony, citric quality in the finish makes you want to take another sip after each taste. And like Cousino-Macul’s Cabernets, it’s a great bargain.
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