Caballo Loco, top-of-the range red made from Bordeaux blend of grapes by Valdivieso of Chile has been recently launched in Delhi. Made to compete with grand cru chateau wines of Medoc and considered to be one of the finest wines not only in Chile but whole of South America, it comes at a fraction of the equivalent wines from the French counterparts. Though it cellars well and will peak in 2-3 years time it can be drunk now if you like the tannins or are enjoying red meats like pork or mutton or with duck and game with rich sauces.

According to Tom Stevenson, a well respected authority on wines,” it is such a masterly wine that I have no hesitation in ranking it as one of the finest South American Wines”.

With this Bordeaux style blend, the company has achieved a landmark and has come a long way from the time when it was known for producing sparkling wine (it started as Champagne Alberto Valdivieso when it started to make wines) Chile has been producing Cru Bourgeois type wines. With this wine, they have perhaps achieved a Grand Cru status.

The Loco named after one of the brother-owners retails for upward of US $30. Tesco, the popular UK supermarket chain is currently selling for US$ 22. In Delhi, it is available at hotels like Maurya and Imperial and restaurants like Diva and Olive serving fine wines with more of them soon to add it to their wine menus. In a conversation with the popular page 3 Chef, Bill Marchetti, he let out the secret. While finalizing the wine list for all the Sheraton hotels, they had tasted ove 390 wines and were pretty sizzled by the time the Caballo was poured for tasting. Bill says that one sip and everyone perked up and wanted to have more of the same. And before you knew it, it had found itself in their new wine Menu. To distinguish between various batches, each batch is numbered and identified as such. No.6 is the latest available vintage.