Winemaker Notes
This wine is made from 100% pure País grapes obtained from a 200-year-old vineyard located in Nacimiento, in which soils are granitic intrusive (solidified magma). The vines were managed traditionally without the addition of chemical fertilizers or herbicides. Santa Cruz de Coya is the name of the nearby village established in 1595 that was a key site of the 1598-1599 uprising that ended the Era of the Conquista. The Mapuches finally won the battle against the Spanish conquistadors.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is an epiphany for wine that seems to have been made as naturally as possible. Cloudy, brilliant ruby with a delicate, almost fragile nose of wild raspberries, white pepper and grapefruit zest. Really clean and vivid. This is rather mild, round and creamy on the palate with supple texture and a really fresh but composed finish. A serious pais that shows incredible drinkability.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Santa Cruz de Coya opens with a delicate nose of dried red fruits, pomegranate seeds, blood orange and grapefruit. The palate is similarly high-toned, with a silky frame and a gently turbid texture. It closes with a nuanced yet persistent finish framed by fine-grained tannins and a stony undercurrent.
Planted as the first vitis vinifera wine grape in the U.S., País has a long significant history in the Americas. Originally from Spain, where the grape is known as Listán Prieto, it was brought by Spanish colonists to Mexico in 1540 and, later, during the late 1700s, to Mission San Diego in California where it would take on another new name, Mission. Propagated for its use as a sacramental wine, Mission remained important in California until the spread of phylloxera in the 1880s. Somm Secret—In Chile it is called Pais. In Argentina, Pais is known as Criolla Chica.
A cool, rather wet region of southern Chile, Bio Bio is experiencing an increase in the development of quality wine production.