Tasting Notes
If you want a world class example of Carignan or Carineña, this is is! And it's on offer at its launch price of £35.
Garage Wine Company is my sort of winery. Not only do they aim to make (and succeed in making) wines that are full of character with great freshness and acidity but they also work with local farmers using traditional methods, reviving old vineyards and paying fair prices for grapes compared with the big wine companies.
This is a single-vineyard field blend of old vine Carignan (mainly) with just a touch of Mataró or Mourvèdre and Spanish variety, País. Carignan is usually grown in hot climates but this comes from Truquilemu, perhaps the coolest part of the Maule Valley. Produced sustainably using traditional techniques - farming by hand and horse, dry-farming, grapes partly pressed by foot, wine fermented with native yeasts and without temperature control with as few sulphites added as possible - the wine is aged over two winters in used barrels so the oak influence is hardly noticeable.
Red berries including cranberries, with spicy, herby and floral notes and hints of fig roll; very rounded with a smooth finish. Full tasting notes are coming soon...
Food Pairing
Recommended to drink with charcuterie, paté, cheese, beef, lamb, duck, game. As this is quite a fresh Carignan it will fare well with rich dishes
Producer's Notes
"Understated and layered– driven by florality & finesse"
Awards
97 points RobertParker.com
"The 2016 Vigno from Garage Wine Co. really blew me away! This always reminds me of the Truquilemu bottling, as the source is the same. This is elegant and floral in a way that very few Cariñena are. It has subtle minerality and an earthy touch, with a rare combination of elegance and rusticity. There is detail, filigree, texture and gobsmacking balance. Grab it if you like Cariñena, because it is among the finest in the world! It was bottled in December 2017."
95 Points Patricio Tapia, Descorchados 2019
[Translated] "Carignan is a variety that offers a rustic, wild texture, but at the same time a refreshing acidity and floral aromas, a delicious bipolarity that in the hands of Garage Wine Co, under the Vigno label (vignadores del carignan), transforms into a little monster of fruity flavors, great strength, huge energy comparable only to well-roasted lamb chops."
2020 nominee Wine Star Awards: New World Winery of the Year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine
