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.
"Here is a fine expression of Vigno, with spicy blackberries, roasted chestnuts, blue and red flowers and some ink and cumin. Really fresh, bright and high-pitched acidity, but has good intensity and solid, structured tannins to balance it. Very ample, but really succulent and long." - JAMES SUCKLING
WINE ADVOCATE 98 POINTS - "There are nuances between the three wines produced with Cariñena from Truquilemu and between those from 2018 and 2019, and the 2019 Vigno is the most powerful of the three. But that's all relative, as the wine is still 13.5% alcohol and has remarkable freshness and balance. But the fruit is a bit darker and the tannins feel a little grainier. But it's still complex and expansive, with red and blue fruit, herbs and flowers and a medium-bodied palate with a long, lingering finish with resonances of acid berries. Vibrant and brilliant. 4,471 bottles were filled in January 2021."
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.
"Here is a fine expression of Vigno, with spicy blackberries, roasted chestnuts, blue and red flowers and some ink and cumin. Really fresh, bright and high-pitched acidity, but has good intensity and solid, structured tannins to balance it. Very ample, but really succulent and long." - JAMES SUCKLING
WINE ADVOCATE 98 POINTS - "There are nuances between the three wines produced with Cariñena from Truquilemu and between those from 2018 and 2019, and the 2019 Vigno is the most powerful of the three. But that's all relative, as the wine is still 13.5% alcohol and has remarkable freshness and balance. But the fruit is a bit darker and the tannins feel a little grainier. But it's still complex and expansive, with red and blue fruit, herbs and flowers and a medium-bodied palate with a long, lingering finish with resonances of acid berries. Vibrant and brilliant. 4,471 bottles were filled in January 2021."
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