Garage Wine Co. Vigno Carignan 2016
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Robert
Parker
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Vigno is an “appellation” that MOVI members created several years ago to classify traditionally-made, naturally-farmed Carignan-based field blends. The fruit for this wine—primarily 70-year-old Carignan, with Garnacha and Mataró—comes from Truquilemu, a site in what most consider to be the “freshest” corner of the Maule in Chile's Coastal Range, a much older mountain range than the Andes, and slower to cool.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Vigno from Garage Wine Co. really blew me away! This always reminds me of the Truquilemu bottling, as the source is the same. This is elegant and floral in a way that very few Cariñena are. It has subtle minerality and an earthy touch, with a rare combination of elegance and rusticity. There is detail, filigree, texture and gobsmacking balance. Grab it if you like Cariñena, because it is among the finest in the world!
Other Vintages
2018-
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
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.