Felipe Müller of Viña Tabalí has been named Winemaker of the Year in Tim Atkin’s MW influential Chile 2025 Special Report.

Müller joined Viña Tabalí in 2006 and under his leadership, Tabalí has become renowned for producing expressive wines that reflect their origin and the potential of the Limarí Valley, particularly its distinctive limestone-rich soils and cool coastal climate. Müller’s contributions have earned him numerous accolades and his philosophy centres on respecting and expressing the sense of place in his wines. Beyond winemaking, he has overseen strategic initiatives, including a joint venture with Champagne Thiénot to produce sparkling wines under the brand TATIÉ, blending Chilean terroir with French expertise. Speaking to Tim Atkin about the award Felipe paid tribute to the whole team at Tabali and the work of viticulturist Héctor Rojas, himself a previous recipient of Tim’s Viticulturist of the year. Felipe highlighted how important it was for the Limarí Valley to receive this recognition and discussed the silent revolution of new regions and new wines that Chile is delivering to the world, notably Itata. 

Our own wines from Itata, made by the Vinos Copa, received fantastic scores in the report with the Copa Cinsault 2021 being names “Red Discovery of the Year“, showing the potential of Itata’s ancient vineyards, the oldest in Chile from where Copa source their grapes. 

Tim Atkin’s MW influential Chile 2025 Special Report, now in its 9th year, was based on a three-week trip to the country in December 2024, during which he covered more than 3,000 kilometres. It features 1,096 wines from 172 wineries and includes some tremendous reviews wines from our producers, Emiliana Organic Vineyards, Viña Tabalí and Vinos Copa. Chile is currently the world’s seventh biggest wine producer and the third largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Increasingly focused on terroir, Chile’s plantings are considerably more diverse than people think and Tim’s report concludes it is producing increasingly exciting wines, the most diverse wines in its history, making the most of its unique geographical position. 

A huge congratulations to Felipe Müller of Viña Tabalí,  Emiliana and Vinos Copa on these accolades. The team here at Boutinot know how fantastic these wines are, vintage after vintage, but it’s always exciting to read praise from such a well respected critic.

Some highlights below. 

Vinos Copa

Vinos Copa Cinsault 2021 Itata Valley 

95 Points and Red Wine Discovery of the year

Eighty-year-old vines in Guarilihue supply the raw material for this dry-farmed Cinsault. Released with a little bottle age, it was fermented and aged in a combination of stainless
steel, old barrels and Chilean raulí wood. Elegant, ethereal and enticingly perfumed, it has lots of energy and freshness, flavours of pomegranate, hibiscus and wild strawberry and a detailed, lingering finish. 

Vinos Copa País 2021 Itata Valley  

94 Points

Rodrigo Concha’s País is one of my favourite Chilean expressions of the grape, sourced from 150-year-old vines in the Itata Valley’s San Ignacio de Palomares. Very lightly wooded
in concrete and older barrels, it’s a wine for Pinot Noir lovers, with fine-boned tannins, succulent wild strawberry and Turkish Delight flavours and supporting savoury tannins. 

Tabalí

Tabalí Talinay Chardonnay 2023 Limarí Valley 

96 Points and one of the Chardonnays of the Year

Why buy much more expensive bottles of white Burgundy of comparable quality when you can drink this superb Chardonnay from limestone-rich soils in the Limarí Valley? Fermented in older oak with no malolactic, it’s a wine with terroir to spare, showing notes of oyster shell, grapefruit and lemon zest, subtle patisserie spices and a lingering, bone-dry finish.

Tabalí Talinay Sauvignon Blanc 2024 Limarí Valley  

96 Points and one of the Sauvignon Blancs of the Year. 

Felipe Müller’s world-class Sauvignon Blanc comes from a windy, north-facing, 1.41-hectare block within the greater Talinay vineyard. Entirely stainless steel fermented and aged, it is engagingly fresh, tangy and mouth-watering, all struck match, nettle, white pepper and elderflower and an oyster shell top note.

Tabalí Barranco Viognier 2023 Limarí Valley  

94 Points

Felipe Müller’s top Viognier – one of the best examples of the grape in Chile – comes from Tabalí’s Río Hurtado vineyard at 1,600 metres in the Andean stretch of the Limarí Valley. Entirely unwooded, it’s a stony, perfumed expression of the grape that marries aromas of aniseed and stem ginger with flavours of quince and apricot supported by high-altitude acidity.

Tabalí Micas Carmenère 2023 Peumo  

94 Points

A quintessential Peumo Carmenère, give or take the decision to age it in older, second and third-use oak, this has an appealing interplay between capsicum and coffee bean aromas, supple, succulent tannins, plum, red pepper and black cherry flavours and plenty of zip and freshness. 

Tabalí Talinay Pinot Noir 2023 Limarí Valley 

94 Points

Four different clones – 667, 777, 828 and a so-called “Burgundian selection” are in the mix here on this very smart Limarí Valley Pinot Noir. Fermentation with 40% whole bunches adds a savoury, slightly stemmy top note to a sappy, racy, chiselled palate of redcurrant and summer pudding framed by spicy, well-integrated tannins. 

Tatié

Tatié Rosé Extra Brut NV Limarí Valley 

95 Points and one of the Sparkling Wines of the Year. 

I generally have a slight preference for the Tatié Extra Brut Rosé over the Brut bottling and that’s the case here. Partnering Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, it has an appealing bronze pink colour, flavours of redcurrant, malt and strawberry, fine bubbles, well-handled dosage of 5 grams of sweetness and a fresh, layered, tapering finish. 

Tatié Brut NV Limarí Valley 

93 Points

Tatié is a joint-venture between Champagne Thiénot and Tabalí, who source this cuvée of Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir from the latter’s Talinay vineyard close to the Pacific Ocean. Combing components from the 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020 vintages, it’s remarkably fresh and vivid, with flavours of cream, toast and hazelnut, racy citrus fruit and texture from 30 months of autolysis on lees.

Emiliana

Emiliana Coyam 2022, Colchagua Valley  

96 Points and one of the Red Blends of the Year

In a world where the prices of some top wines are increasingly astronomical, Coyam is a glorious, value-for-money exception. Dominated by more or less equal parts Syrah and Carmenère, with the remaining 29% made up of Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvèdre and splashes of Carignan, Petit Verdot and Tempranillo, it’s a brilliant Bordeaux-meets the Mediterranean blend showing some subtle reduction, aromas of scented oak, oregano and wild thyme and a palate of garrigue, tapenade and blackberry complemented by granular tannins. 

Emiliana Gê 2021 Colchagua Valley

96 Points and one of the Red Blends of the Year

It may not be worth four times the price of Coyam, but Gê is still a superb wine in its own right from Noelia Orts. Dominated by Mediterranean grapes, it’s a cuvée of Syrah, 30% Carmenère, 12% Garnacha, 10% Malbec, 7% Carignan and 1% Monastrell. Engagingly perfumed and refined, it’s a detailed, lightly wooded red with mountain herb and liquorice aromas, plenty of zip and acidity, dense, spicy tannins and layers of plum, blueberry and blackcurrant. Intense, compact and built to age.

Emiliana 57 Rocas Carmenère 2022 Colchagua Valley

93 Points

A wine that’s all about place and variety rather than oak, this is a very lightly wooded Carmenère from biodynamically farmed parcels planted in 1992. Liquorice, coriander and petrichor aromas are a scented introduction to a palate of bramble, black olive and toast framed by textured tannins. 

To read the full report please visit Tim’s website HERE

*some newer vintages will land shortly