Roberto Henríquez Rivera del Notro 2016
This wine is quite unique. Corinto is harvested first (earliest to ripen) then Muscat, then Semillon, last. Corinto is the same varietal as Chasselas but has a higher acidity and minerality here with hints of bacon fat and pineapple. Semillon has a sense of cucumber, atypical of the variety but how it grows here. The varietals are fermented separately, then blended.
País vines embody the culture, history, tradition and character of the Chilean terroir, and they are a driving force for the journey into winemaking for Roberto Henriquez.
Roberto Henriquez studied agronomy and enology at the University of Concepción. From there, he travelled and worked with winemakers in Canada, South Africa and finally in the Loire Valley with Rene Mosse. Rene had a profound effect on Roberto’s perspective on winemaking and his progression into organic and biodynamic farming.
Roberto, originally from Concepción, returned home after his time in abroad to begin making his own wine. Returning to the traditional Pipeño methods of the original winemakers of Chile felt intuitive to the winemaking style he had adopted. The rest of his story to present is pure progression to the pursuit of the most pure wines in a true Chilean context.
His vineyards were personally and carefully selected. Working with long term fermage agreements, he farms all the land himself (with the help of farming animals). To the north, in Itata, he is working with a vineyard of old vine Semillon and blends that with Corinto (aka Chasselas) and Muscat d’Alejandria producing an orange style wine. A little further south, in Bío Bío, he is farming Pais, from which he makes the Pipeño and the Santa Cruz de Coya.
He works with carbonic macerations and ages in old Rauli wood barrels. His wines are light-bodied, translucent, refined, and full of character!
