Get your tastebuds ready for a unique and lively take on "old world" traditions! Chile's Garage Wine Co. makes wines of freshness, a sense of where they came from and resonate with food. The winery really did start in a garage, a popular place for small producers to challenge the idea that worthwhile wines can only be made by grand estates with grand budgets.
Started in 2003 by Derek Mossman Knapp, Pilar Miranda and Alvaro Pena, they were driven to revive old vineyards and display Chile's character in a more transparent fashion. These true terroir wines come from various small plots along Chile's coastal mountain range in the more southerly Maule region, and higher altitude sites in the central Maipo Valley. Today, the Garage Wine Co. owns about a third of these plots, but they have been happy working with the small farmers who own the rest, paying a fair price for their efforts in producing better grapes. While they work with very familiar varieties, as well as Pais (aka Mission) whose presence here goes back to the 1500s, they make their wines to display the region's personal style rather than try to replicate what people are used to elsewhere.
These are also wines on the 'natural' side of the spectrum, showing plenty of savory, earthy elements complementing the crisp fruit and floral characters: fermented with native yeast, the skins are manually punched down in small batches (sometimes first crushed by foot), then pressed in an old-fashioned basket press, age in older barrels to avoid covering the fruit, and add only small amounts of sulfites after fermentations are done. The farming traditions here are mostly intact: they and their sources practice organic or sustainable farming without irrigation, involving local farmers and workers who know the vineyards well, and who often use horses to plow. Even the source of the recycled bottles, the paint for labeling and wax sealing are all a result of finding local solutions for their needs.
The wines will really pop when served at a cool 60-62F, and all benefit from aeration, so decant and give them some time in the glass.
"The 2020 Cariñena Truquilemu Vineyard - Lot 117 has a dash of 3% Syrah, both from Empedrado, Maule, and spent 2 years in used French barrels. Purple in hue. The expressive nose presents cotton candy and sour cherry notes over a garrigue-like [wild herbs of southern France] layer. Dry and juicy, the vibrant, finely grained tannins slightly shrink the palate to produce a long-lasting, savory red." - Joaquin Hidalgo, VINOUS MEDIA
WINE ADVOCATE 96+ POINTS - "The 2020 Truquilemu Vineyard follows the path of the 2018 and 2019 with even lower alcohol (12.9%) and great freshness and acidity, a pH of 3.36 and 6.4 grams of acidity. The modus operandi was the usual: fermented in open-top vats with indigenous yeasts and manual punch-down with a slow malolactic, which took 10 months to finish, and matured in used barrels over two winters. It contains some 4% Syrah. This has the ethereal quality of this vineyard, powerful but weightless. This place makes fresh wines even in warm vintages like 2020, and you feel that especially in the palate where the wine is vibrant and lively. 5,882 bottles were filled in February 2022."
Started in 2003 by Derek Mossman Knapp, Pilar Miranda and Alvaro Pena, they were driven to revive old vineyards and display Chile's character in a more transparent fashion. These true terroir wines come from various small plots along Chile's coastal mountain range in the more southerly Maule region, and higher altitude sites in the central Maipo Valley. Today, the Garage Wine Co. owns about a third of these plots, but they have been happy working with the small farmers who own the rest, paying a fair price for their efforts in producing better grapes. While they work with very familiar varieties, as well as Pais (aka Mission) whose presence here goes back to the 1500s, they make their wines to display the region's personal style rather than try to replicate what people are used to elsewhere.
These are also wines on the 'natural' side of the spectrum, showing plenty of savory, earthy elements complementing the crisp fruit and floral characters: fermented with native yeast, the skins are manually punched down in small batches (sometimes first crushed by foot), then pressed in an old-fashioned basket press, age in older barrels to avoid covering the fruit, and add only small amounts of sulfites after fermentations are done. The farming traditions here are mostly intact: they and their sources practice organic or sustainable farming without irrigation, involving local farmers and workers who know the vineyards well, and who often use horses to plow. Even the source of the recycled bottles, the paint for labeling and wax sealing are all a result of finding local solutions for their needs.
The wines will really pop when served at a cool 60-62F, and all benefit from aeration, so decant and give them some time in the glass.
"The 2020 Cariñena Truquilemu Vineyard - Lot 117 has a dash of 3% Syrah, both from Empedrado, Maule, and spent 2 years in used French barrels. Purple in hue. The expressive nose presents cotton candy and sour cherry notes over a garrigue-like [wild herbs of southern France] layer. Dry and juicy, the vibrant, finely grained tannins slightly shrink the palate to produce a long-lasting, savory red." - Joaquin Hidalgo, VINOUS MEDIA
WINE ADVOCATE 96+ POINTS - "The 2020 Truquilemu Vineyard follows the path of the 2018 and 2019 with even lower alcohol (12.9%) and great freshness and acidity, a pH of 3.36 and 6.4 grams of acidity. The modus operandi was the usual: fermented in open-top vats with indigenous yeasts and manual punch-down with a slow malolactic, which took 10 months to finish, and matured in used barrels over two winters. It contains some 4% Syrah. This has the ethereal quality of this vineyard, powerful but weightless. This place makes fresh wines even in warm vintages like 2020, and you feel that especially in the palate where the wine is vibrant and lively. 5,882 bottles were filled in February 2022."
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