Winemaker Notes
Tasting NotesPinot Noir Max Reserva 2012 has a deep ruby-red color, with a nose of red fruit aromas such as sour cherries and raspberries and subtle notes of dill and damp earth. The palate offers refreshing acidity and a mineral mouthfeel, along with smooth tannins that lend structure and provide an expansive sensation. The finish offers an intriguing fresh strawberry aftertaste.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This coastal Pinot is round and full in feel, with reedy cherry and plum flavors matched by creamy oak. Briny hints, vanilla and integrated oak help this Pinot finish with elegance.
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.