Winemaker Notes
Vigno 2021 reveals the classic red and black fruit notes, dried leaves and tobacco that are associated with Carignan. In the mouth, it is racy and vertical, tracing a line on the mid-palate that follows through to a very long finish. With great fruit concentration and intensity, it remains agile thanks to its tense texture and pronounced acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The old-vines series 2021 Vigno was produced with a field blend of Carignan with 15% other grapes: Malbec, Cinsault and Cabernet Sauvignon from the vineyard La Aguada in Sauzal on granitic alluvial soils. The destemmed grapes fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in neutral barrels for nine months, after which, 85% of the volume was transferred to a 2,500-liter oak foudre to complete a total of 11 months élevage. It has 13.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.33 with 6.81 grams of acidity. It's a cold year, and the wine comes through as balsamic and a little minty, with notes of camphor. No 2020 was produced from this wine, and in 2021, they went for a fresher wine with a little less alcohol; and the wine comes through as more austere, fine and elegant, a little paler, subtler than previous vintages. More elegant but less varietal?
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James Suckling
Lovely mineral note to the black cherries and pomegranate fruit. Fresh herbs, dark earth and blueberries. Very elegant and nimble on the medium-bodied palate, showing wonderful tension and brightness. A beautiful VIGNO.
Responsible for some of the most stunning old vine red wine on the planet, Carignan has an amazing capacity to survive dry, arid climates and still produce lovely, mouthwatering wine. In Spain it goes by the name of Mazuelo or Cariñena and while it may have originated there in the province of Aragón, its popularity lies elsewhere, particularly in Languedoc-Roussillon. Somm Secret—Historically Carignan did not enjoy the respect that it does today. In the mid 20th century, Carignan covered nearly 140,000 ha in Algeria, where it was made into low quality bulk and blending wine to supply mass-market demand.
Maule is the Central Valley’s most southern and coolest zone, reaching a southern latitude of 35°S, yet it is still warmer and drier than Bío-Bío to its south. The Maule Valley enjoys success with a unique set of grapes.
It lays claim to the local variety, Pais (synonymous with Tinta Pais, which is actually Tempranillo), which has dominated much of the region’s area under vine until the recent past. Now many growers, not confined by the tradition and regulations of the Old World, also successfully grow Cabernet Sauvignon.
While Maule’s total area under vine remains relatively static, its old Carignan vineyards are undergoing a great revival. The VIGNO (Vignadores del Carignan Vintners) group, an association in charge of promoting this long-forgotten variety, is getting fantastic results from the old vines in its dry-farmed coastal zones.
The Maule includes the subregions of Talca, San Clemente, San Javier, Parral, Linares and Cauquenes.