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2018 Pais Single Ferment Series 215 BC Ferment
180 Bot @ £140 per 12 Bot Case, in bond
£200.14 duty & VAT paid
The 2018 País 215 BC Ferment is part of the Single Ferment Series, meaning the wine is produced with fruit from different vineyards (three vineyards and different zones in this case, mostly in Cauquenes, crossing into Empedrado) fermented together, and the 215 BC means the País grape was there 215 years before Cabernet. They decided to develop this series to be able to sell an affordable wine but still pay the growers a decent price for their grapes. The second and third batches of fruit were added when they were ready and put on top of the tank already fermenting. One continuous ferment. This feels darker and more serious than the majority of País out there, aged in old barrels for one winter. It has more complexity and depth, ripe flavors and round tannins, without any rusticity, but with the character of the grape and the granite soils. It has moderate alcohol and great balance, with a lively palate and great purity. 2018 was described by winemaker Derek Mossman with just one word: glorious. They produced 16 barrels of this that filled 4,624 bottles in January 2019. The quality here sets the bar for the 2018s to come. 2020-2023
92 points Luis Guttierez, Wine Advocate
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2018 Pais-Carinena Phoenix Single Ferment Series
60 Bot @ £70 per 6 Bot Case, in bond
£100.07 duty & VAT paid
Their blanc de noirs contains a significant amount of Cariñena in 2018, so it is mentioned on the label of the 2018 País-Cariñena Phoenix Ferment from their Single Ferment Series, wines that continue to be sourced from more than one parcel or vineyard site and are (co-fermented) "in one single ferment." In the (interesting) words of winemaker Derek Mossman, "the idea is to make something like a live recording, hence without tweaking nor dubbing afterward and with multiple microphones"! The 2017 was quite successful, so they picked some more País from Sauzal and some Cariñena from the Purapel vineyard. They pressed the whole clusters, and the only available press was quite big, so they needed to use no less than 4,500 kilos of grapes. It's surprisingly floral and aromatic, fresh and clean, with a vibrant palate, focused and delicious. 2,871 bottles were filled in October 2018. 2020-2023
92 points Luis Guttierez, Wine Advocate
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2018 Isidore Vineyard F1 Semillon
Maule Valley
120 Bot @ £110 per 6 Bot Case, in bond
£148.07 duty & VAT paid
A new "proper" white here, the 2018 Isidore Vineyard Maule Valley Semillon could very well be the finest Semillon I've ever had from Chile. It comes from a vineyard between Cauquenes and Sauzal that the González family farms by hand and horse. In the field, it's mixed with Sauvignon Blanc that was separated and sent to the local cooperative. Sixty percent of the volume fermented with skins in amphorae (tinaja) and the rest in tanks, all with native yeasts. The two parts matured separately for 11 months, and the part in amphorae went through malolactic, while the portion in stainless steel did not. It's all wild flowers and herbs and smells of the wild countryside in the spring, with intoxicating notes of pollen and beeswax. You don't really notice the skins of the amphorae; it's just a little darker, but that's all. It's amazingly tasty, almost salty, a white for food that should develop nicely in bottle. This has 13.8% alcohol, high acidity and low pH, the wonders of decomposed granite soil and ancestral farming... 1,300 bottles were filled in January 2019. 2020-2026
94 points Luis Guttierez, Wine Advocate
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2016 Renacido Vineyard Lot #74
D.O. Maipo Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
120 Bot @ £110 per 6 Bot Case, in bond
£148.07 duty & VAT paid
I enjoyed the texture of the 2016 Renacido Vineyard, perhaps a little less elegant but with great character. I looked at my note from the previous year and was very surprised to read that I commented on the texture then as well. I often associate minerality with texture (and/or vice versa), so this has to be an expression of the soil here, an expression of granite. Because it's also Cabernet Sauvignon... 5,000 bottles were filled in November 2017. 2018-2025
94 points Luis Guttierez, Wine Advocate
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2016 Vigno
Dry-farmed Old Vines D.O. Maule Valley
120 Bot @ £148 per 6 Bot Case, in bond
£193.67 duty & VAT paid
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! It was bottled in December 2017. 2018-2028
97 points Luis Guttierez, Wine Advocate
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The following will ship Spring 2021:
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2017 Vigno
Dry-farmed Old Vines D.O. Maule Valley
120 Bot @ £148 per 6 Bot Case, in bond
I find the 2017 Vigno from Garage Wine Co. to be quite wild with notes of iron, wild flowers and lots of pollen, balsamic and expressive and in a way somewhat similar to the one from De Martino; I tasted 12 Vigno bottlings together, which made for a very interesting comparison. This comes from Truquilemu, one of the coolest places in Maule, but 2017 was a warm year and also marked by brutal wildfires. The palate is sharp and has marked granite character and very good freshness. A great effort for the adverse conditions of the year! 1,500 bottle were filled in January 2019. 2020-2027
96 points Luis Guttierez, Wine Advocate
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2016 Sauzal Vineyard Empedrado Lot #75
Maule Valley Carignan, Garnacha, Mataró Field Blend
120 Bot @ £110 per 6 Bot Case, in bond
As with other wines where I had the chance to taste the 2015 and 2016 versions side by side, the 2016 Sauzal Vineyard is more elegant and has more finesse and a nice texture, and even if the tannins are there, the quality is amazing. 2016 was not an easy year; it was challenging, but they picked these grapes two days before the rain. It's very fresh, and analytically, it has a lot of acidity. This is just great. 1,901 bottles were filled in November 2017. It's lot #75. 2018-2026
95 points Luis Guttierez, Wine Advocate
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2016 Bagual Vineyard Caliboro Lot #76
Maule Valley Carignan, Garnacha Mataro
120 Bot @ £110 per 6 Bot Case, in bond
The expressive and aromatic nose of the 2016 Bagual Vineyard makes me think of a vermouth or a Barolo Chinato, with tons of aromatic herbs, spices and flowers. It has abundant, fine-grained tannins and a powerful mouthfeel, while at the same time, it has elegance and balance. This is definitely fresher than the 2015 I tasted next to it. 2,586 bottles were filled in December 2017. 2018-2026
95 points Luis Guttierez, Wine Advocate
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2016 Bagual Vineyard Caliboro Lot #79
Maule Valley Garnacha Field-blend
120 Bot @ £110 per 6 Bot Case, in bond
The 2016 Bagual Vineyard Garnacha Field Blend is floral, expressive and perhaps radically different, with notes I've never found in previous vintages. It was harvested very early, because ripening was very fast, and it has great tension on the palate (it has 7.17 grams of acidity!). The bunches of Garnacha here are very small, as Garnacha can be very variable. 2,584 bottles were filled in December 2017. 2018-2026
94 points Luis Guttierez, Wine Advocate
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2017 Garage Wine Co, Truquilemu Vineyard Lot #87
Maule Valley Carignan
120 Bot @ £110 per 6 Bot Case, in bond
The Cariñena/Carignan from Truquilemu is always more aromatic, and the 2017 Truquilemu Vineyard shows it. It is floral and expressive, but it also has a meaty touch and an iron-like twist. It has abundant, fine-grained and chalky tannins and is nicely textured. This comes from the vines from the Orellana family, from perhaps the freshest corner of the Maule Secano on the Coastal Range of mountains (much older and slower to cool than the Andes) where soils are granitic and subsoils have cracked granite that allow roots to get deep into cracks. The freshness here clearly transcends the warm and dry conditions of a very challenging year marked by crazy bushfires that burned the surroundings of many of their vineyards. The old vineyards always have some other varieties, and in this case, the Cariñena is complemented by small amounts of Mataró (Monastrell) and País. The wine has very healthy parameters, and I guess it's going to develop nicely in bottle. 3,000 bottles were filled in January 2019 after the wine spent two winters in barrel.
96 points Luis Guttierez, Wine Advocate
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2017 Las Higueras Vineyard Lot #92
Valle Maule Cabernet Franc
120 Bot @ £110 per 6 Bot Case, in bond
The 2017 Las Higueras Vineyard is a Cabernet Franc from Maule and, therefore, is quite different in style from the one from Pirque in Maule, with less herbal and mint notes and more of a fruit-forward, peachy personality, perhaps aided by the warmer year. In any case, they changed the farming of this vineyard as they took over, starting with the pruning and training of the vines, making them look more like the bush vines and letting them grow above the first wire, which lent more shade to the fruit and seemed to result in a slower maturation of the grapes and less alcohol (this is only 12.9%!). They also sold some fruit from this vineyard to other wineries, so in the future, we might get to taste different interpretations of this very same vineyard. They also started working with cover crops and removed the synthetic fertilizers and other stuff, even abandoning irrigation and going back to cultivating it the old way with the aid of vignerons from Sauzal and Puico. They say they really noticed a big difference now that have been working it for three years. The plants are now 116 years old. With time in the glass the wine develops a very specific note of merken, a Chilean paprika-like blend of spices. 5,264 bottles were filled in January 2019. 2020-2025
94 points Luis Guttierez, Wine Advocate
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Highly Rated 2019 Cornas - Rhone En Primeur
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2012 Rioja Gran Reserva - Best in Show
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