Description
De Martino, “La Aguada” Old Vine Carignan
Over the years we’ve made it our mission to seek out wines for folks who, like us, don’t always want to pay blue-chip prices for the aged wine experience. Typically, that search has led us to well-trodden landscapes like Bordeaux and Rioja. Today, though, we offer a truly unique bottle, a peek into a vastly underappreciated corner of the wine world, that hits many of the same pleasure points as our favorite wines from more storied terroirs.
De Martino’s Carignan “La Aguada” is a 13-year-old stunner: deeply spiced, overflowing with dried black fruits and savory leather, full-bodied and bold, yet gracefully fresh and mineral. It’s an old-vine masterpiece of elegant rusticity from one of the most important wineries in Chile. Those of you who are familiar with Chile’s fascinating vinous landscape will likely know the De Martino name; no winery has made its mark so indelibly in so many Chilean wine regions. At just $50, “La Aguada” is your chance to experience a soulful aged wine at its qualitative peak without burning through your hard-earned cash. And of course a wine this grand will only continue to improve in your cellar, so don’t hesitate to grab a handful!
Opulent, shiny new wineries—often bankrolled by French or American brands—tend to garner all the attention in coverage of Chile’s wine scene. But the De Martino winery is no such thing. It was founded in 1934 by Italian immigrants to the Maipo Valley, and is now headed by the fourth generation, Marco Antonio and Sebastián De Martino. Over the past decade and a half, the brothers have led a quiet revolution in Chile, away from over-extracted, syrupy reds to a brighter and fresher style. They’ve toned down the winery’s use of new wood, begun picking earlier, and converted all fermentations to native yeast.
The De Martinos have their roots in Maipo Valley, but they’ve expanded their reach beyond to include what they consider the most promising sites around all of Chile. In cooler, more coastal regions like Limarí and Casablanca, they focus on Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The “La Aguada” bottling hails from the Maule Valley, about 200 miles south of Chile’s capital, Santiago. Bounded by a coastal mountain range to the west and the Andes to the east, the Maule is warm and dry, a region whose dependable vintage conditions have made it the source for large-scale red wine production. But it’s also deeply historic, being the first Chilean region planted with vines by the Spanish, and it’s this past that the De Martinos tap into with “La Aguada.” It’s sourced from bush vines of Carignan now approaching a century in age, planted in deep, sandy soil. Like many of the oldest vineyards in Chile, it’s actually a field blend; in addition to the Carignan, the vineyard contains about 15% mixed plantings of Cinsault and Malbec that find their way into the finished wine.
The 2010 vintage was warm, but without the heat spikes so common today in Maule, and it provided wines that are robustly full-bodied with a core of refreshing and age-worthy structure. The fruit for “La Aguada” was destemmed without crushing, fermented spontaneously, and then aged in 5,000-liter oak foudres for two years. Now, after 13 years in bottle, it’s a flat-out stunner ready to impress after just a short decant. With just a touch of air, the nose explodes with brambly blackberries, dried blackcurrants, spiced plums, cedar, black pepper, sandalwood, leather, and hot, pulverized rock. The palate is sumptuous and mouth-coating, carrying the generous warmth of the region, but kept remarkably fresh by Carignan’s signature core of acidity. There’s no doubt Carignan can often come across as a bit weedy and rustic, but with the age of “La Aguada,” that character has been transformed into a savory, almost sanguine suaveness that calls to mind the terroir-transparent brilliancy of aged Bordeaux. This is truly spectacular stuff, ready to hold its own against the grandest wines from far more pedigreed regions. It’s an experience that vastly over delivers on its modest price tag. Do like us and load up!
