Errazuriz Estate Merlot 2004, from Chile

THIS week's wine is a prize winner and a fine expression of the merlot grape. It's a deep ruby-red colour with a bouquet of ripe red berry fruit. It tastes of blackberries and blackcurrants and at 14 per cent alcohol is a really full-bodied wine. It has balanced acidity, low tannin content and fruity finish, the ideal wine to go with turkey and cranberry sauce.

This bottle came from the Errazuriz winery in the Aconcagua region in the north of Chile's wine growing area.

This stretches from 400km north of Santiago to 650km south.

Chile has gone from strength to strength in wine production and exporting - $15m worth in the 1980s to more than $600m now. The quality is high as shown by this wine's gold medal at the Wine Challenge this year.

The grapes were actually sourced from the Curico valley. This valley, which follows the river from the Andes to the coastal mountains, produces nearly a quarter of all Chilean wines. It has a flat fertile plain which is easy to mechanise and has a plentiful supply of water from the Andes. The merlot grape does very well here and is the third most planted grape in Chile with over 3,000 hectares devoted to it.

Only the US and Canada take more of Chile's wine exports than the UK.

The Errazuriz wine company was established in 1870 and now produces 530,000 cases of wine per year from its 540 hectares. Most gold medal winners sell for more than £10 so £5.99 from Tesco must be the bargain of the year.

17/01/06