Winemaker Notes
Originating from Burgundy, France, this variety dates back to 1989 in the Casablanca Valley, renowned for its high quality, medium-bodied and balanced wines. This Pinot Noir comes from grapes selected from the hills of our vineyard, and is aged for 10 months in American oak barrels and Slavonian oak foudres.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2024 Pinot Noir Gran Reserva from Las Dichas, Casablanca, is fruit-forward, with damp earth and subtle oak in the background. Simple and moderately indulgent, it is softened by light 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.