Echeverria No Es Pituko Natural Wine Viognier 2022
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This natural wine has a delicate straw yellow color and appears slightly cloudy in the glass due to its lack of processing. On the nose it has aromas of peach and tropical fruits such as chirimoya, that harmonize with a buttery characteristic due to its malolactic fermentation. In the mouth, the tropical and floral flavors linger and it’s good acidity highlights this wine’s freshness.
Active in Chilean agriculture, grape growing and winemaking since 1740, the Echeverria family established their current vineyards and winery in 1923 in the outskirts of Molina, a town in the Curicó Valley. Here, they grow grapes from French pre-philloxera rootstocks, on their 80 ha of vineyards.
Originally established to produce bulk wines, in 1990, the winery was converted to produce quality wines for export. In the following years, Echeverria was one of the few boutique wineries to emerge from Chile, and the first family winery from Chile to sell wine to Harrods in London.
Eventually, the family started purchasing grapes, to compliment and build complexity to their wines. "We realized that to succeed and be different, we needed to be open," says Roberto Echeverria, the Technical Director Chief Winemaker, whose first solo vintage appeared on the market in 2001. With sustainable practices in the vineyard, Echevarria produces a wine for most every palate, while embracing a philosophy that's based on consistency.
Wines under the Echeverria label are vinified conventionally while the ‘No es Pituko’ range is vinified naturally.
'No es Pituko'; is Chilean slang for 'it ain't fancy'; reflecting the fact that this wine was vinified naturally, without any additions at any stage. The Chardonnay grapes for this wine come from a single vineyard in the Entre Cordilleras area of the Curicó Valley, situated at 243 metres above sea-level. These are ungrafted 37 year old vines that are cultivated according to sustainable agricultural methods in order to respect the land and its environment.
Full-figured and charmingly floral, Viognier is one of the most important white grapes of the northern Rhône where it is used both to produce single varietal wines and as an important blending grape. Look for great New World examples from California, Oregon, Washington and cooler parts of Australia. Somm Secret—Viognier plays a surprisingly important role in the red wines of Côte Rôtie in the northern Rhône. About 5% Viognier is typically co-fermented with the Syrah in order to stabilize the color, and as an added benefit, add a subtle perfume.
Bordering the Coastal Range in the west, and stretching as far east as the foothills of the Andes, the Curicó Valley has two major mesoclimates that allow it the potential to offer a great diversity of high quality wines. In the east around Molina and north of the Claro River, the chilling winds coming off of the Andes make this part of the valley cooler. In the west, the Coastal Range protects inland wine growing areas from the Pacific Ocean, making it hotter and drier. The valley can support a large range of grape varieties within these climatic variations.
In 1979 Miguel Torres, Spain’s largest family-owned producer of premium wine based in Penedès in northeastern Spain, invested heavily in the area. By introducing many modern technologies, Torres put the Curicó Valley on the international wine map and strengthened Chile's presence in the global wine market.
Curicó is one of the southern appellations of the greater Central Valley wine growing region, which includes from north to south: Maipo, Rapel, Curicó and Maule.