2018 Las Pizarras Pinot Noir

There is a jump in quality in the 2018 Aconcagua Costa "Las Pizarras" Pinot Noir, from what was a cold year in Aconcagua Costa, slightly drier and slightly cooler than 2016. So, I'm not surprised this cool-climate variety behaved quite well. The wine has great purity and transparency and is very clean and expressive, with good complexity and aromas of blood orange and sour cherries, a note of iron and a touch of cinnamon. They used some full clusters in the fermentation, which seems to have added some grip, and the wine matured mostly in 300- and 500-liter oak barrels. It has abundant, fine-grained tannins, good weight and juicy fruit and comes through as nicely textured, balanced and elegant but not heavy or ripe. The wine is a lot more elegant, and I think it's the best vintage so far of a wine that can now be the benchmark for the variety in Chile. 9,310 bottles and 60 magnums were filled in February 2019.