Quintay Clava Coastal Reserve Pinot Noir 2009
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Quintay is a boutique winery located in the heart of the coastal Casablanca Valley, Chile’s quintessential cool-climate wine region. It was founded in 2005 by a group of renowned producers with the goal of growing the finest Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir grapes in all of South America. Today it is owned by the Martin Weinstein family, maintaining its Chilean ownership, innovative spirit and mission of sustainably farming and nurturing their special plot of land located on the chilly Pacific Coast.
Quintay “Clava” wines focus on exhibiting optimal purity of their fruit as they are made from 100% estate grapes carefully selected from their vineyards. The resulting wines are fruit-driven, but also display complexity, earthiness and depth. The liveliness and crisp acidity make them ideal partners for the dinner table.
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.