Vintage: 2021
Varietals: Pais
Farming: Organic
Pipeno is an endearing term for a local, unpretentious ‘peasant’ wine, typically made from Pais, an obscure, under-appreciated, forgotten grape of vague Spanish descent. It’s light-bodied, fresh and funky with bright red berry flavors, crisp acidity and lower in tannin with flinty, earthy notes. Not bad for a liter of ‘swill’! The volcanic vineyards of Cacique Maravilla have been dry farmed orgnically for 7 generations. Some of their vines are over 250 years old!
Handpicked, this is dry farmed 100% Pais is destemmed manually using the zaranda (traditional bamboo screen) and fermented in open top lagars of raulí (native pink oak of Chile). The free run juice is then transferred into pipas (or barrels) made of raulí for several months after harvest on the fine lees. Super light red that almost drinks like a crunchier Gamay.