Winemaker Notes
The 2019 Casas del Bosque Gran Reserva Pinot Noir is an intense, ruby color. On the nose, strawberries and dried figs blend with notes of black tea, complemented by hints of vanilla and spice from the French oak barrels. Medium bodied, concentrated but balanced, with some tannin that will reward ageing in bottle. Finishes long and clean.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Redcurrants, sour cherries, lemon zest and dried flowers on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with soft tannins. Crisp, juicy and bright with a pretty finish. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There's more freshness and integrated oak in the 2019 Gran Reserva Pinot Noir, which fermented with a portion of full clusters and matured in oak barrels, 20% of them new, for six months followed by eight months in stainless steel with the lees. It's an improvement over previous years; the power seems more controlled here, but the oak is still noticeable on the palate and, like the Pequeñas Producciones, could do with some more freshness.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A region that has become synonymous with some of the best whites of Chile, the Casablanca Valley is full of dozens of bodegas who either grow fruit here or come from outside to source from local growers for their own white wine programs. The valley runs from east to west, which means that its westernmost vineyards receive the most cooling influence from the reliable afternoon sea breezes. The soils also tend to be heavier in clay in the west, whereas the eastern end of the valley is warmer and its soils are predominantly granitic. Sauvignon blanc thrives here, Chardonnay does well and Pinot noir is not uncommon.