2020 Vino de Vinedo Los Parientes Pinot Noir
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Tasting Notes
The 2020 Los Parientes Pinot Noir is in a lovely spot right now – sharing the supple texture of its Chardonnay sibling. It is beautifully elegant, with tealeaf aromatics, gentle spice and crunchy berry fruit. Structurally, it is fine-boned – the fine, chalky tannins adding a graceful outline to the mouth-watering fruit. Gloriously fresh, the finish is saline with the slightest hint of smoke. Dangerously drinkable and incredible value, from one of Chile’s most talented winemakers.
The 2020 is noticeably richer and full-bodied compared to the lighter-styled 2019. The whole-bunch, grilled, herbal, stemmy tones again add complexity but seem better integrated and balanced with the rich blackberry and plum fruit. Despite having a higher percentage of whole-bunch than in 2019, the vintage’s riper fruit and tannins are better able to balance out the additional complexity.
A super intense, translucent purple colour, the Pinot has distinct herbal and bay leaf aromas interspersed with hibiscus and rosehip floral notes. The palate is very fruity with red cherry, raspberry and wild strawberry dominating. Just under a third is whole-bunch fermented, giving a more vinous structure and adding a savoury, pepper spice complexity.
Critic Scores
Average Score
Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
Salted dark plums and roses, together with some dried herbs, white pepper and wax-berries. Very characterful. A juicy, full-bodied pinot with some vertical tannins. Firm, but polished. Chalky and long. Unique style. Drinkable now, but better after 2024.
The Los Parientes Pinot Noir uses three different clones - 777, 828 and GA04 - and is an impressively concentrated, deeply coloured red that demonstrates the quality of Francisco Baettig's Malleco vineyard. Fermented with 8% whole bunches, it's a structured, ferrous number with rosehip and vanilla aromas and flavours of plum, strawberry and black cherry.
The extremely young red 2020 Vino de Viñedo Los Parientes Pinot Noir comes from a very warm and dry year in central Chile, but more normal in the south, but even then, the grapes were picked between March 20th and 30th (before the Chardonnay), quite early. There are nine hectares of Pinot Noir that are dry farmed and without herbicides in a zone of Mediterranean climate with average rain of more than 1,000 liters; in a drier year they might get 800 liters instead... This fermented with some 8% full clusters and matured in French oak barrels, 10% new and 300-liter, for 10 months. It's quite complex, with notes of rose hip and red berries and a hint of blood and iron. It has a soft palate with some earthy tannins, juicy acidity and some spiciness. 15,180 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2021.
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About the producer
Baettig is the exciting project from leading winemaker Francisco Baettig (of Errázuriz fame). Crafting vibrant, site-expressive wines from Chile’s south, with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Malleco and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Maule – this is one of the hottest names in South America.