De Martino Gallardia Cinsault
*** Best Red Wine In Ireland Irish Wine Awards ***
Country: Chile Region: Itata Valley
Varietal: Cinsault Vintage: 2021
Category: Red Wine Style: Dry
Producer: De Martino
The Wine Advocate - The very drinkable Gallarda del Itata Cinsault has good freshness and moderate alcohol. It was produced with fruit from a 35-year-old ungrafted, dry-farmed vineyard in Guarilihue in the commune of Coelemu. It fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and will be bottled unoaked. It has bright red aromas and a soft mouthfeel with round tannins and good freshness. It has the texture of the granite soils. With time, more spicy notes come out of the glass. 13,300 bottles will be filled in September 2018.
Luis Gutierrez - 31/10/2018
De Martino is one of the most progressive and exciting names on the Chilean Wine scene, deservedly named Chilean Winery of the year in 2011. Through a network of intellectual partnerships and vineyard acquisition, it has quickly built up a reputation for organic viticulture of the highest quality, farming from over 350 different vineyards.
The corporate vision focuses on sustainability, terroir, and, by logical extension, excellence. By concentrating on the very best sites for the varieties in question, be they in Limari, Elqui or Maipo, and by the development of a world class winemaking team, De Martino now sits at the very top of the Chilean vinous hierarchy.
The Alto Piedras vineyards make up 5 hectares of the sub-Denominacion of the Isla de Maipo, a de facto island as the vines are surrounded by two branches of the Maipo River. Two other self-evident truths are located in the nomenclature; firstly that the terrain is rocky, volcanic gravel to be precise and secondly that the vines are quite high up.
Vineyards:
Itata Valley is a cool climate wine region in Chile, located 400 km (250 mi) south of Santiago. Some of the earliest vineyards were planted near the port city of Concepción during colonial times. Pais, Muscat of Alexandria, Cinsault and Carignan, dominate the vineyards, although international grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are gaining ground.
Vinification:
Better balance and more finesse to the wines. Cauquenina means “girl from Cauquenes”. This blend comes from non-irrigated old vines, planted on ancient red granite slopes.
Cauquenina is a blend of several varietals. Each lot was vinified and aged separately. Fermentation took place in cement vats. A portion (about 15 to 20%) of the wine was put into new French oak barrels and the other part in one-year-old barrels. The fermentations were slow and careful so as not to over-extract.
Food Suggestion: Great with grilled red meat like Lamb, a mixed bean casserole or fried aubergines.
