From the Itata Valley in Southern Chile, Old-Vine Cinsault

I love being turned on to new regions and that have yet to be uber popular with the resultant price increase. Then again, the wines now have the Asimov spotlight. I found the Volcanico from these Bravos guys and it is wonderful. A light red not unlike a pinot. Just delicious.

For only the second time in 66 Wine Schools, we were unable to find one of the recommended wines. We had to replace the 2016 A Los Vinateros Bravos with 2018 D E Martino Gallardia. After the alcohol blew off on the Rogue we noticed some earth, soft tannins but not much fruit. The spicy finish was the best part. When served with Big John Cajun and salami the match did not work. The best pairing was with Chevre. The Pedro Parra Pencopolitano was a mouthful fruit bomb. It showed plum and red fruit flavors but with silky tannins. It was quite a mélange of flavors. It was served with a strip loin with pequillo peppers and feta. The meat blended nicely with the cuvee. Our replacement Itata Valley Cinsault was the D E Martino. The color and mouth feel (only) reminded me of a beaujolais. The nose and palate was a different story. It showed floral notes with red cherries that were quite pure due to the lack of oak and the use of stainless steel fermenting. It was served with a barbequed pork belly with broccolini. The food combination made the wine even more interesting. It was our favorite wine and wine and food pairing. George Erdle – Harper’s Fine Dining – Charlotte, NC

Had the ’17 Vinateros Bravos El Túnel (mistaken for the Granitico when I bought it) in a Sunday night dinner informed by Martina’s and Martin’s earlier posts this month. The wine was distinctive and impressive. Barb loved its rich fruit. I loved, let’s see… it was plush and light, bracing and fruity, fresh and smoky, minerally and woody, vibrant and smooth... and maybe, as Martina called two other Itatas, disjointed? Certainly was hard to wrap my head around its light plus silky rich, almost oily mouthfeel, plus vibrant acidity. Or its fresh, juicy berry plus hard granite tastes. Plus smoke. Plus cords of tall wood—terroir-y, cool windswept mountainside, cedar and evergreen wood. Plus black pepper. Martina also found the Itatas hard to pair, as did I, with the Pedro Parra. This time I got lucky with a take on Martin’s Chilean braised pork tinyurl.com/y2xkl54h . Made its unspecified cut of meat a spare rib, and turned its flamethrower aji pepper into tablespoonfuls of sweet smoked paprika. The result was an unsweet, unhot, mildly vinegared, richly seasoned bbq, served in a cleansing, acidic wash—it made all the difference—of cool, herby, tomato-y, oniony salsa. Disjointed wine and disjointed food hit it off. Tomatoes liked the wine’s acidity. Savory meat liked its fruit. Spice liked oil. Oregano liked evergreen. Somehow it all went. Plus that you-are-here sense of aerie terroir. Happy in the meal’s afterglow, Barb asked if I’d rebuy. I hedged. Pretty tough wine to pair.

We enjoyed the Rogue Vine Itata Valley Grand Itata Tinto 2016 and the Pedro Parra y Familia Secano Interior Itata Pencopolitano 2017 on three days with three grilled chicken and pork dishes. On the first day we had pounded Salt-Pepper Chicken breast. We had the Rogue first. I found it chalky, a little on the sweet side and full of berry flavors. Then the Pencopolitano seemed like an over the top berry explosion, almost of the red-bull-bubblegum kind. Next day we grilled chicken thighs, marinated and topped with Chimichurri (https://tinyurl.com/yxzfcmq8 https://www.instagram.com/p/B2KPeGyHS4G/ ). The Pencopolitano now seemed to me not chalky but granite-y and floral. On the third day, we could really tell the wines apart. We marinated pork chops in the Chancho a la Chilena marinade then grilled them and served them with that Pebre Salsa https://www.instagram.com/p/B2K3MCWnjbN/ . The Pencopolitano know seemed young, perfumed, and berry-like and the Rogue rustic, rusty, earthy, ironlike (the Outis cam to mind), and savory. The darker the white meat, the longer it marinated, the better these wine turn out.

I was able to find the Rogue Vine and Pedro Parra y Familia Cinsault. In the mouth, the wines were very light at first but then evolved into several really interesting flavors by the end of the taste. The Pedro Parra reminded me of a Pinot Noir lightness followed by a quick splash of Granache fruitiness and ended in a very pronounced smokiness reminiscent of a Syrah. The Rogue Vine started similarly with the Pinot Noir flavor and was bigger on the Granache juiciness in the middle of the palate, followed by a more faint Syrah smokiness. I tried these wines with pork chops, which I thought would go well, but didn't end up pairing like I had hoped - I'm not sure what I would pair them with, there seems to be so much going on that it might be tricky. What fascinated me was that the wines didn't change much over the 3 days that I tasted them. My favorite day was the second, when the Pedro Parra developed a flavor like a fresh burnt marshmallow s'more around a camp fire. The third day, the smokiness turned more mesquite. However, although I found this wine fascinating, I didn't necessarily want to drink it and would prefer to drink the Rogue Vines cinsault if I had to choose. I haven't tried a multitude of Chilean wines, and I have found them at times disjointed, with many pieces of what we we look for in a great wine that are not necessarily in harmony. I found some element of that disjointedness in these wines but found they had - as you say in the article - potential.

I was able to find Rogue Vines Grand Itata and Pencopolitano. My wife and I tried them together at a Spanish restaurant. Generally we liked both wines. The Grand Itata was our favorite of the evening. It started with a nice blast of red fruit, followed by a long but light finish. It was best lightly chilled. Paired very well with our food which included roast chicken for her and paella for me. I also found it to be one of the few red wines I would happily drink without food. The Pencopolitano was a "bigger" wine with more alcohol (14% vs 13%). It was denser with a slightly grainy mouth feel. Again a nice wine and I might prefer it if I was having steak or lamb. Overall both wines were fairly simple but had character. They seem to have been made by a person not a corporation. I feel,as Eric suggested, that both wineries are producing very good product now but have the potential for even better in the future.

We were able to get a bottle of A Los Viñateros Bravos at the Princeton Corkscrew. I looked today and it has since sold out. I hope they get more because I would happily buy it again. I would think it would go well with a wide variety of foods and would make a good hostess gift, appealing to a wide audience. I served it with Clare de Boer's roast chicken with focaccia and basil aioli from the Aug. 28 Food section. The wine stood up to the garlicky aioli without fighting with it. It made me think of Goldilocks, not too acidic, not too many tannins, not too heavy, not too sweet, just right.

The Bravos wine is light and high-toned, with red fruit notes, and a very interesting hint of a foresty/green balsamic note (also reminds me a little of green walnut skin). It holds up well to a chill. For anyone familiar with the the Pais from these guys, this CInsault doesn't have any of that smokey note you get from the other wine.

De Martino Viejas Tinajas Cinsault 2016 with Chilean Pork (Chancho al a Chilena) https://tinyurl.com/y2xkl54h . I found the wine carbonic, spicy, natural, and fresh with an acidic, lingering mouthfeel. What a natural wine quaffer, I thought. It reminded me of the raisins gaulois. The wine was in love with the lemony parsley salsa. With that chimichurri-type marinade and pork it turned in a totally pleasant fruit blast over time. Boiled, waxy yukon gold potatoes dipped in the roasted marinade-meatjuice combination were a wonderful comfort food.

I imagined the Pencopolitano might go well with this crazy chicken and chorizo dish tinyurl.com/y6y22auz , made with added yogurt, almond and coffee flavors. The weights worked fine, the flavors worked fine, but the fire from Dickson Farmstead’s gonzo hot Mexican chorizo was overwhelming. After 2 sips, we put the P back for another night, another pairing. But those two sips were lovely. Light in weight (almost shockingly light in color), with flavors of berry, violet, cedar and, most distinctively, smoke. Bit of sweetness on the attack; pleasantly tart finish (not pleasant with the spice, though!). Mouthfeel has a fascinating oiliness. Liked it a lot. Looking forward to another try.

Good Evening: Day 2 with the Pencopolitano 2016. Served with roast chicken on a bed of summer squash, cherry tomatoes and Castelvetrano olives. Music: Songlines issue #149 sampler CD. Better today because of a better food pairing. The wine works (plays?) much better with a hearty dinner. Chilled for 1 hour, and this also seemed to help. The fruit was more restrained today, but the earthy, herbal and spicy flavors came through stronger. Did have the same flaw: as it warmed to room temperature, turned acidic and a little harsh again. Will keep looking for the other two, but already happy with this month's lesson.

Good Evening: Another completely new region! Have a feeling that the Wine School would have seemed less interesting during the 70s and 80s with fewer areas to explore. Found the 2016 vintage of the Pencopolitano. Tomorrow, roast chicken; tonight; served with a cheese plate and charcuterie. Music: my Bat for Lashes mixtape--spooky music for a spooky foggy San Francisco evening. Chilled 45 minutes before serving. Color: very dark ruby, almost black. Nose: huge hit of blackberry, cedar and mint, also with some cherry and white pepper. Taste: same elements as the nose, plus strawberry, oak, and vaguely spicy and herbal qualities in the background. Good texture, long finish. It went well with the cheeses, and will probably go very well with chicken, red meat, possibly tomato based dishes such as ratatouille. Maybe even salmon or cioppino. Reminded me of California wines made from Rhone varietals. One flaw: as it warmed, the finish turned acidic and a little harsh. Definitely better with a little chill, and perhaps an hour in the refrigerator will prove the perfect temperature.

In Northern NJ I found A Los Vinateros Bravos - Canto a lo Divino 2016 retail $17. I have it on order and am looking forward to tasting as I enjoy varietals. My search indicated that cinsault is a big rose grape especially in France.

These are great selections and I am happy to see cinsault getting some love! Another excellent wine to try is La Onda. Much of his production is from the Sierra Foothills, but the Chilean project comes from Itata, and the latest Onda Brava wines (in partnership with Leonardo) are in the Bowler book. Super natural, done the right way.