La Despensa Boutique Pool Blend 75% Cinsault, 15% Pais, 5% Marsanne and 5% Roussanne.
A genuinely unique wine - La Despensa is the only producer of Cinsault in Colchagua and Pais from this valley is also extremely rare! The Cinsault and the 2 whites come from a new vineyard planted in 2017 and the Pais from a 150 year old, dry-farmed vineyard in Pumanque about 20 minutes from the winery that they run themselves organically. The Cinsault and Pais give notes of raspberry and strawberry and the white Roussanne and Marsanne a little mouthfeel and a hint of tropical fruit.
Organically grown grapes (not certified) from our own vineyard in Santa Ana, and Pumanque in the Colchagua Valley. Irrigated as sparingly as possible via drip irrigation (dry-farming for the 150 year old Pais). Hand harvested and sorted personally by me in the vineyard (I personally check every single bunch), then destemmed with the crusher removed from the destemmer. Grapes are fermented in open top bins and concrete tank and blended immediately after pressing. MLF occurs with the wine already blended. Wines are racked in November and again in January before being bottled after about 10 months ageing in 50% neutral oak barrels and 50% Flextank.
Versatile, goes well with beef, chicken, pasta, great for Summer BBQs
Review:
"The red blend 2021 Wines Pool Blend was produced with an unusual blend, especially for a wine from Colchagua, of 75% Cinsault, 15% País and 5% each Marsanne and Roussanne. It has kept a moderate 13.5% alcohol and retained good freshness (pH 3.44) after maturing exclusively in Flextank and being bottled unoaked. This is fruit-driven and straightforward, with a medium-bodied palate and fine tannins. 2,400 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2022. - Luis Gutiérrez"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (April 2023), 90 pts
La Despensa Boutique Field Blend is made from 45% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre and 5% Roussanne.
This is La Despensa's flagship Rhône-blend, produced from grapes from their own, organic vineyard in Colchagua. Their passion is to produce very high-quality grapes - it’s the vineyard work that they love the most. So this blend is always a little different year after year, as they make whatever the vineyard gives them. In 2020 they incorporated a little Roussanne to the blend, which adds some mouthfeel and a tiny background note of tropical fruit, to accompany the fresh fruit and structure that the other varieties bring out.
La Despensa Boutique Field Blend is made from 45% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre and 5% Roussanne.
This is La Despensa's flagship Rhône-blend, produced from grapes from their own, organic vineyard in Colchagua. Their passion is to produce very high-quality grapes - it’s the vineyard work that they love the most. So this blend is always a little different year after year, as they make whatever the vineyard gives them. In 2020 they incorporated a little Roussanne to the blend, which adds some mouthfeel and a tiny background note of tropical fruit, to accompany the fresh fruit and structure that the other varieties bring out.
Review:
"A very vivid and bright nose with lots of red fruit and flowers. Some sweet currants, raspberries and pomegranate in the forefront followed by a nice touch of bay leaf, graphite and flowers. Juicy and bright on the palate with a medium body and firm and fresh tannins. Very drinkable. 45% grenache, 35% syrah, 15% mourvedre and 5% roussanne. Co-fermented. Enjoy now."
- James Suckling (February 2023), 92 pts
La Despensa Boutique Colchagua Grenache is made from 100 percent Grenache.
Clean and fresh, like all our wines, with varietal typical notes of fresh summer fruit but with slightly grippy tannins that will enable the wine to age. Translucent in color, typical of newer vine Grenache.
Very versatile and pairs well with almost any type of food. Would go great with pulled pork and rich tomato based pasta sauces
La Despensa Boutique Cinsault is made from 100% Cinsault.
A genuinely unique wine - they are the only producers of Cinsault in Colchagua! From a new vineyard planted in 2017, the team at La Despensa thinks they’ve hit the jackpot with this variety in this valley. Much more structure, color and intensity than the typical Chilean Cinsaults from further south, this is an easy drinking but serious version of this wonderfully fruity variety!
Review:
"Apparently the first and only Cinsault from Colchagua, the 2021 Boutique Cinsault was produced with vines planted in 2017 and worked organically (but is not certified), and it's much darker and more structured than the examples from the south. It fermented in concrete with selected yeasts and went through malolactic in stainless steel and then 60% of the volume matured in used barriques for six months. It has 13.5% alcohol and kept good freshness, and it's varietal, balanced and easy to drink but not banal. 1,200 bottles were filled in March 2022. - Luis Gutiérrez"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (April 2023), 91 pts
La Despensa Boutique Colchagua Cabernet Sauvignon-Marselan is made from 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Marselan
A different take on Chilean Cabernet, with grapes from a high-alitude vineyard in the foothills of the Andes, where Summer temperatures never exceed 30C/85F. The grapes ripen over a longer growing season and the higher levels of UV help fix color and flavor profile. This is a fresher take on Cabernet Sauvignon when compared to the typical highly concentrated Cabs that are considered the standard from Chile. The Marselan (from our own vineyard in Santa Ana) adds structure and tension to the wine and also an even more intense color. Expect fresh and recently ripened blackberries and red currants.
Les Noisetiers is a combination of specific lots from within Kistler’s vineyards of designated quality that are situated in far western Sonoma County, near the coast. They began creating Les Noisetiers upon noting that there was an inherent mineral tone which they loved in the lots from their vineyards planted in these coastal sandy Gold Ridge soils.
A classic balance of layered, juicy fruit and mineral backbone. It is delicious wine, with white flowers and stone fruit aromatics leading to a full bodied, juicy core, loaded with flavors of peach, apricots, pineapple and pear.
Avennia Sestina Red Blend is made from 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc.
The Sestina is a poetic form from Medieval France. Just as a contemporary poet can use an old form like the Sestina to express modern ideas, we use the traditional Bordeaux blend to make modern wines that express Washington fruit. Sestina is our vision for an old vine blend where the focus is on structure, balance, and complexity. This wine is designed for the cellar, but is enjoyable now.
Sestina: This wine is a blockbuster, with black currant, black raspberry, saddle leather, freshly tilled earth, vanilla, and violet on the nose. Exceedingly rich and balanced on the palate, with great poise and structure for long aging. The finish echoes with fresh black fruits, minerally touches, and floral notes.
Review:
The 2021 ‘Sestina’ is a gorgeous blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Needing about 30 minutes in the decanter to fully unwind, this yields beautiful black florals that mingle well with wet stone, Black Forest Cake and suggestions of huckleberry with garrigue notes. The palate is soft and refined with a silky texture and beautiful sense of elegance and weight. This is seamless throughout the drinking experience, loaded with black fruit flavors with dark chocolate shavings and suggestions of underbrush. Refined tannins frame this stunning heavyhitter of a Cabernet that is already drinking beautifully now at the three year mark. Savor this beauty now and over the next fifteen to twenty years.
-Owen Bargreen 96 Points
"The book end to the Right Bank-inspired Valery, this is the Left Bank-inspired wine which blends 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc. Sourced from old vine Bacchus, Dionysus, Red Willow and DuBrul grapes, it’s given the rock star treatment with 21 months in 50% new French oak. I love the flavors of the well-chosen barrels, which match those spicy/toasty notes to fruit with both power and palate presence. Beautifully structured, powerful yet restrained, with ripe black fruits that trail into powdery tannins, this is a special wine with a long life ahead."
- Paul Gregutt 97 Points