AT the end of the nineties, I would have said Chile had lost its way as a wine-producing nation, despite its immense natural advantages of climate and rootstocks. The cheaper reds were dull, sweet products of over-cropping, and the top reserves were simply not worth the absurd prices for wines that made you tired drinking them.

Now the country is playing to its strengths again. My favourite Casillero del Diablo range - reds and whites - is exemplary at around the fiver mark.

Two competitors, at é4.99 each from Sainsbury, are well worth a look. Dona Dominga Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon/Carmenere 2003 is made from 100-year-old vines at the Silva family's holdings in the prestigious Colchagua Valley. It offers sweet cassis fruit with a longer finish than you would expect. I preferred its sister white, Dona Dominga Old Vines Chardonnay/Semillion 2004, for its buttery, peachy, pineappley drinkability. It was slightly too sweet for the salmon we accompanied it with. I'd sip it on its own on one of the first spring days it's fit to sit out in.

Up a considerable notch is a trio of reserve reds from another Colchagua Valley outfit. Unlike the pioneering Silvas, the MontGras Estate are the new kids on the vineyard blocks, investing heavily in the nineties.

Their MontGras Reserva Carmenere 2001 shows that investment was not misguided. The uncommon Carmenere grape, imported from France in the 1800s, only really thrives in Chile - a bit like Malbec's preference for Argentina. This pure varietal gives, mint, wild herb and liquorice flavours over toasty oak.

The MontGras Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah 2002 is a worthy stablemate. The Cab and Syrah were vinified separately, the one aged in oak barrels, the other in stainless steel. The result is a plum and chocolatefest. Drink it with pheasant and cabbage.

But taking gold, as the trio breast the tape together, is super-smooth MontGras Reserva 2002 Quatro. As you might guess, it's a blend of four lots of hand-picked grapes - Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec Carmenere, and Merlot. It's three days since I finished it and I'm still sniffing the complex aromas in the bottle. Vanilla, eucalyptus, liquorice, sheer sensory overload. I'm going to buy some to lay down!

The MontGras reserva wines are available, from é7.49, at Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Unwins. Tweet