Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
After 20 harvests comes their first Cru, the 2018 Cru Truquilemu, which they describe as "Truqui with more stuffing." It comes from a small triangular section with a lower natural yield, with greater concentration and a darker, more brooding personality. It was fermented with more stems than the other Truquilemu and with a bit of Syrah, which adds weight, depth and texture. After fermenting pieces of the vineyard separately over many years, two distinct personalities emerged, and they have bottled them separately since 2018. Truquilemu has become more ethereal after the separation, and this is sturdier, with extra stuffing but more tension. The wine has less alcohol (12.8%, and 12.5% in 2019!!) higher acidity (7.43 grams measured in tartaric acid) and an incredible pH of 3.18, amazing parameters of freshness and restraint. This is not heavier, it just seems to have the same personality but with more layers. It was produced in a very simple and slow way, fermenting in open-top lagars with some full clusters and adding lignified stems to avoid carbonic maceration, with indigenous yeasts; malolactic took 11 months (!), and the aging in used and neutral barrel was extended over two winters.
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Wine Spectator
An intriguing red, offering a burnt caramel edge to the floral blueberry and pine aromas, with concentrated berry, guava and blood orange flavors. Features nuances of loam and bay leaf, ending with fine tannins and a note of cherry cordial. Drink now
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.