From: Maule, Chile
Blend: 80% Pais, 20% Carignan
Taste & Critical Acclaim: This wine is a blend of 80% Pais and 20% Carignan from the southern Maule region of Chile and is made in an old style called Pipeño. The wine is light in color with bright notes of crushed raspberry, wild strawberry, and rose petals that lead into underlying hints of dried herbs, mint leaves, fennel and thyme. This fruit driven, easy drinking wine with a bit of animale has fresh acid with low tannin and can be enjoyed with a slight chill.
Critical Acclaim
WS 89 Wine Spectator
A lively and spirited red, with a mineral undercurrent to the dried raspberry and red currant core. Delivers details of dried rose petal, savory thyme and fennel seed on the clean finish. Pais and Carignane. Drink now.
Pairing: This red is unbelievably food-friendly, making it a great wine for tapas night. Try this with peppercorn-crusted tuna, homemade pizzas, empanadas, enchiladas, popcorn chicken, or grilled chicken thighs topped with caramelized onions and mushrooms as a meal pairing. Risotto is one of our favorite pairings with many of the new wines we bring in, and when we saw the recipe we’re sharing below, we had to share it. It’s a bit off-the-beaten-path but highlights similar contrasts in this wine. In short, it’ll be a delicious evening!
Carrot Risotto With Chile Crisp
By Alexa Weibel
About. Many thanks to importer Brazos Wine for the following information. David Marcel arrived in Chile fresh off the boat from France as a twenty-two-year-old winemaker looking for an opportunity. After graduating with a wine degree from Montpelier, David worked for large wineries producing significant quantities of wine while simultaneously falling in love with his Chileño bride. David eventually decided to make his home in Chile, and two decades later, began producing wines primarily composed of Pais and Carignan from some of Chile’s most prized heritage old vines.
David is a force and one of the most generous humans we have ever encountered. He is not only a strong voice for Viña Maitia, but he is also a tireless advocate for the artisan winemakers of Chile and continues to lead a path for his contemporaries, typically putting himself after others. David’s wines are understated, extremely drinkable wines of great value.
Vintage: 2021
Varietal: 80% Pais, 20% Carignan
Case Production 12 pack: 5000
Alcohol Content: 13.30%
Region / Location: Loncomilla, Maule
Vineyard: multiple, 25 acres, planted in 1895
Altitude: 390 ft
Farming Practices: Sustainable, Dry Farmed
Soil Type: Granitic
Trellis System: Gobellet Cabeza
Yield: 3.2 tons/acre
Stem Inclusion: None
Yeast: Native
Winemaker: David Marcel
Élevage: 5 months in Cement Vat
Lees Contact: None
Filtration Method: Crossflow Filter
Maceration / Fermentation: Short 5-day Fermentation
UPC Code: 7804657730005
Now, about the main grape: País!
The epic tale of País, the people’s grape
BY W. BLAKE GRAY