February 2014: Vina Ventolera Litoral Pinot Noir
Welcome to Chile’s most coastal wine growing region. The cool winds of the Humboldt current help ventilate the vineyards making this the perfect site to grow grapes like Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and in this case Pinot Noir. If you get tired of picking grapes, it’s only a 9km drive to the beach. Sounds like paradise to me!
Vina Ventolera helped pioneer vineyard plantings in the Leyda Valley all the way back in 1999. At this point the region had many skeptics but this once again shows that a winemaker’s hunch is worth trusting.
Unlike most of Chile’s vitners, Vina Ventolera doesn’t rely on the melting snow in the Andes to irrigate their vineyards. Instead, they have several rainwater collection sites. In addition to this, their winery runs on power generated by windmills. They have the perfect recipe for responsible viticulture.
This Pinot Noir is made from only the best grapes from their vineyard. The lesser 90% is actually sold allowing them to guarantee their quality from year to year while still being environmentally and economically sustainable. This does mean that production is very limited.
In the glass the wine is clear and intensely crimson. The nose is masculine with lots of dark fruit and spice notes. Black cherry, leather, stewed strawberry and white pepper are the first to hit your nose. Because this wine is aged in relatively new oak for 7-8 months it does also pick up a clove-like quality and a velvety weight.
This wine has a little more body than your average Pinot Noir. It has creamy tannins and a drawn out finish. This is a natural pairing for pork tenderloin or a mushroom bread-pudding (ask the chefs at Model Milk for the recipe).
Price: $22.00 Case: $18.70
