Rafael Urrejola - Viña Undurraga

Choosing the best winemaker is incredibly difficult. In Chile there are a plethora of fantastic winemakers and highlighting only one is almost unfair. However, as it must be done, the decision was not taken lightly. One of the reasons that led me to the extremely talented Rafael Urrejola of Viña Undurraga, was the remarkable depth of the wines from different regions that he has masterfully crafted.

I remember meeting Rafa almost 20 years ago at a wine tasting in London, when he worked at Viña Leyda. At the time, I was running a wine bar and wine shop in Oxford. After tasting the wines with Rafa at the tasting, I ordered them immediately and was selling them the following week. Rafa joined Undurraga in 2007, initially to oversee the Terroir Hunter line. Since then, he has been appointed chief winemaker and has also taken over the winery's premium line. An impressive workload!

As I mentioned earlier, one of the things that stands out about Rafa is his ability to understand so many different terroirs and to express the character of each place so beautifully. Each of the eight Undurraga wines featured in the guide has received an award, something truly remarkable.

All wines possess a true sense of purity, freshness and lightness. The careful extraction in red wines is at the forefront, which provides great drinkability at an early age. Importantly, the TH line has shown incredible consistency over the years with each vintage showing a true representation of the year's growing conditions.

Rafa is no stranger to awards, having recently been named Red Winemaker of the Year by the International Wine Challenge, becoming the first winemaker from the Americas to do so. I hope many more awards will follow.

Best Winemaker - Viña Undurraga

96 points Red Field Blend
2021

95 points T.H. Carignan Maule
2021

95 points Cauquén
2020

95 points T.H. Sauvignon Blanc Limarí
2022

94 points T.H. Pinot Noir Malleco
2021

94 points Trama
2021

94 points T.H. Rarities Riesling-Sauvignon Gris
2021

91 points T.H. Merlot Casablanca
2021