Lomas de Llahuen "Pipeño" Blanco, Itata Valley, Chile 2022

FROM JOSÉ PASTOR:

THE WINE: 100% Moscatel de Alejandría from the family’s Parcela Los Colihues of 70-year-old own-rooted vines planted on granitic clay loam soils. The densely planted and dry-farmed vines are at 90 meters above sea level. The grapes are destemmed and macerate on the skins and ferment with native yeasts for 15 days in stainless steel tank before pressing back into tank to rest for 11 months before bottling unfined, unfiltered and with a very small dose of SO2.

THE PRODUCER: Gustavo hails from Portezuelo, a typical area for Pipeño production in the Itata Valley. He has been making Pipeño in the traditional style, aged in Raulí, from his family’s vines for over 10 years. After receiving a government grant to study winemaking and farming, Gustavo spent a harvest with Benziger Family Winery, one of Sonoma’s pioneers of biodynamic farming. After working harvest, he was inspired to improve farming practices on his own family farm. He started by converting the property to organics and plans to incorporate biodynamic practices in the future.Lomas de Llahuen is the name for wines made with the fruit from old vines in Portazuelo that have been in Gustavo Riffo’s family for many years. Gustavo has been making wines with his family’s grapes for more than 10 years, but this is a separate project from his personal wines bottled under his name, although the emphasis on minimal intervention, organic farming, and biodynamic approaches in the vines is the same.