Morande

Pablo Morandé was the first person to plant vines in the Casablanca Valley, and that is the fact worth knowing about him. Casablanca is now one of the districts Chile is best known for; Morandé got there before anybody else, and it is still where the winery sources the Pinot Noir in its entry range, a grape that only works in cool sites. He founded Viña Morandé in 1996 after that work, guided, in the winery's own words, "by a clear vision and pioneering spirit". He is still active on the board.

He comes from Cauquenes, which the winery calls "the cradle of our founder" and the source of "many of our most emblematic wines". They work the interior secano of Maule and Itata, the dry-farmed inland country, and describe what they are doing there as the rescue of Chilean viticultural heritage. They have VIGNO Carignan vineyards in Maule and a vineyard at Ránquil. Their Aventura cellar is underground, gravity-fed and, in their description, sustainable. If you want to understand what this company is about, that is where to look.

They are not a small operation. Viña Morandé is part of Morandé Wine Group, and the range runs to nine separate lines: House of Morandé, Specialties, Morandé Adventure, sparkling wines, Vitis Única, Selección de Viñedos, Terroir Wines, Pionero and a late harvest. So there is a serious end and an everyday end, and it is worth knowing which is which.

Pionero is the entry range, named for that pioneering spirit, and in the winery's own words it is meant to be honest, expressive and vibrant, reflecting the character of each origin. The Pionero wines are a Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère, Merlot, Malbec, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and a Cinsault and Syrah rosé, all from the Valle del Maule, plus the Pinot Noir from Casablanca.

The Carménère is the one that needs explaining. It is the grape Chile has made its own, and Morandé's own account dates its rediscovery in Chile to 1994, before which it had been growing there unrecognised. It gives a red with dark fruit and a savoury, herbal edge that is quite unlike Merlot, which is exactly why the two are worth drinking together. Same producer, same valley, same vintage, one Merlot and one Carménère: that pair will teach somebody more in one evening than any amount of description from me.

These are not wines I discovered, and they are not rare. They are well-made, honest reds at a price that works by the case, from a producer with a genuinely interesting history and a much more serious range than the everyday end suggests.