Volcanic Chilean Pinot Noir - Wine & Spirits Magazine

Volcanic Chilean Pinot Noir


Patricio Tapia tracked the rise of Nuevo Pinot Chileno, looking at clonal selections and some of the winemakers exploring their vineyards’ terroirs. Check it out in our August issue; digital subscribers can also read it here! — the W&S Team


Soils in the Bio-Bío vineyard


Pilar Díaz makes this wine from a vineyard in Rapelco, near Mulchén, where the soils derive from the Andean volcanoes of Chile’s south. It’s a pinot noir imprinted by the cool winds, the plentiful moisture in the soils (there’s no scarcity of rain in this river valley), and particularly by the trumao, the red clay formed from volcanic ash, tuff and lava. It’s a similar tannic character to what you might find in some of the país grown on trumao just to the north, in Itata. Here it elevates the black-cherry richness of pinot noir, the tangy licorice and brisk freshness, completing the wine with that distinctive tannic detail. A fragrant, volcanic pinot noir for grilled quail.

Vias, NY

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Volcanes de Chile 2016 Bio-Bío Valley Tectonia Pinot Noir (Best Buy)

Every week, our editors highlight a wine that intrigued them in our blind panel tastings, expanding on their tasting note in this space. These are entirely editorial choices; there are no paid placements. Subscribers can also access the original tasting note by searching here.

Joshua Greene is the editor and publisher of Wine & Spirits magazine.


This story appears in the print issue of August 2021.
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