Winemaker Notes
Rare bush-head vine Cabernet Sauvignon, shows classic old-world herbal aromas, red-fruit brightness and spice but what’s really different is the texture, especially when tasted next to a wine from Maipo, you notice the granite in the palate here, the old-vine complexity and less alcohol– the difference proper farming makes.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Really vivid and racy blue fruit to the nose. Punchy and floral with bright acidity that cuts through the tense, full-bodied palate, and creamy, melted tannins which are well integrated and expansive. Excellent fruit purity and raciness. Cabernet sauvignon grafted onto old-vine pais.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Renacido Vineyard, marked with Lt #114, was produced with Cabernet Sauvignon from Cauquenes (Maule), searching for finesse, tension and fine tannins. It was produced with grapes from ancient País vines regrafted to Cabernet Sauvignon 10 years ago with some 12% Malbec in the field blend that has been, in the words of Derek Mossman, "uncertified organic for 75+ years." It fermented in open lagars with indigenous yeasts and a small portion of whole clusters that were foot-trodden, then it matured in neutral barrels over two winters. It has 13.4% alcohol and an incredible pH of 3.3 with 6.23 grams of acidity. There's finesse and perfume here, with the core of 2020 ripeness, but all very subtle.
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Vinous
The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Renacido Vineyard comes from Coronel de Maule, Cauquenes, in the Maule Region. It was aged for 2 winters in used barrels. The redcurrant-inflected nose also contains jammy blueberry and sweetbrier notes with touches of boldo, graphite and garrigue. Dry and juicy in the mouth, the fairly reactive tannins and full-bodied palate make for a somewhat tacky, structured red. A wine that demonstrates the importance of harvesting at just the right point in a warm year.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
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.