Winemaker Notes
#99 Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Wines of 2019
Deep and intense ruby color with a touch of violet. This wine displays a never-ending mix of aromas such as cherry liqueur, liquorice, white fruits such as apricots, white peaches, pears and a touch of lychee. A note of jasmine to wrap up. In the palate, it is fresh, juicy, and opulent. The wine fulfills the mouth for an extremely refreshing experience.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Ripe blackberry and dark plum aromas are aided by wellapplied oak that gives off a note of maple. A highintensity palate is full of fruit, which allows this to be both tough and lush. Bold flavors of wild berry and dark spices end with smoky notes and a hint of chocolate. Drink through 2023.
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.