(2020) Cono Sur produced some of the first Chilean Pinot Noir that I ever came across, with my first tasting note from the 2000 vintage. Then the wine came from Casabanca, and was not organic certified like this 2018 vintage, so things have changed. Grapes come from San Antonio and Chimbarongo in Colchagua, home to the first Pinot Noir plantings in Chile. 70% was aged in oak barrels for eight months. It's a Pinot in the earthy, smoky and vegetal mould, aromas of beetroot to the fore, with a little rhubarb. That's a totally legitimate profile for Pinot, though a sweet cherry fruit character comes through nicely on the palate, the texture quite creamy, and the finish juicy and appetising. Note the price is down to £7.50 in Sainbury's until the start of July 2020. Watch the video for more information and food-matching ideas.

(2018) The Root 1 range of wines from Ventisquero are all made from ungrafted vines, planted on their own roots. This hardly ever happens in the world of wine ever since the Phyloxerra infestation that devasted (and contunues to devastate) vineyards across the world as the solution is to plant a generic, but resistant rootstock, then graft the variety of vine you want onto it. Chile's sandy soils provide protection from the Phyloxerra louse, and here the signature grape Carmenere is blended with 15% Syrah and aged in French and American oak. There's a touch of reduction at first, but a deep and plummy fruitiness comes through, and a sappy, herbal edge that's so typical of the variety. In the mouth it is rich, spicy and crammed with bittersweet black fruit, nice solidity to the tannins and acids, and a helluva mouthful of wine at the £6 offer price until 16th September. Watch the video for more information and food matching ideas.

(2017) Vinedos Emiliana is one of South America's most passionate advocates of organic and biodynamic viticulture, and this certified organic Carmenere is an excellent introduction to their range. Only 20% of the blend was aged in French oak barrels for six months, allowing the lifted, violet and white pepper character of this aromatic red to shine, the palate smooth and glossy, with black fruits touched by chocolate and a gentle, cherry juice acidity, the softening creaminess of the barrels filling out the low tannin, quaffable finish. Eminently juicy and approachable, but with savoury credentials as a food wine too. Watch the video for more information and food matching ideas. Note too that supplier Oddbins will be pouring their wines at my London and Edinburgh Festivals of Wine.

(2013) Dark and vibrant colour, A little more green and vegetal on the nose than the 2011 'Cuvée Colchagua' for sure, just slightly reduced. Decent fruit, a bit green and grainy, with some supporting creamy oak and a fairly nice overall balance. A savoury wine, leaner and needing food more than the fresher 2011. 86