Winemaker Notes
This 100% hand harvested Criolla Chica is from a special, single plot within the vineyard. The nose is lifted with notes of strawberry, caramel, rose petals, dark cherry, and fresh cracked white pepper. The palate is light and bright with strawberry and fig with and an underlying fresh wet earth component that leads to a long finish with moderate tannin.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The thing with the very pale and subtle 2018 Parcela La Totora was love at first sight. It comes from a very small plot of extremely old Criolla Chica vines that produced an unusually pale red (some would call it a rosé), super aromatic, floral, perfumed, expressive and captivating. It was superbly textured, with unusual finesse and chalky tannins that make you salivate. It's long, tasty, clean and delicious and among the best Criolla Chica/País/Listán Prieto I have ever tasted. It has enough fruit and austerity and lots of purity. Bravo! It fermented and matured exclusively in concrete egg, which seems to respect the character of the delicate wine.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Cara Sur Parcela La Totora is a usual red wine produced from Criolla Chica—aka known as Mission in California. TASTING NOTES: Starting with a light red/orange color, this wine brings a savory spice, tart red fruit aroma, and flavor to the fore. Enjoy its crisp finish with delicately spiced fried chicken. (Tasted: April 11, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
Beyond the usual suspects, there are hundreds of red grape varieties grown throughout the world. Some are indigenous specialties capable of producing excellent single varietal wines, while others are better suited for use as blending grapes. Each has its own distinct viticultural characteristics, as well as aroma and flavor profiles, offering much to be discovered by the curious wine lover. In particular, Portugal and Italy are known for having a multitude of unique varieties but they can really be found in any region.
This very hot and arid region produces fine red wines from Bonarda, Syrah and Malbec and solid, fruity white wines from Pinot grigio, Viognier and Chardonnay.
MIWMMCARTOT18D_2018 Item# 732419