Pinot Noir Parcelas los Primos, Baettig, Traiguen

So complex and nuanced with brooding dark raspberries, blackberries, black tea, wet earth, forest floor, roses and a hint of wild herbs. Fine, gamey accent, too. This is broad and juicy with a complete, full wrap of fine tannins. Powerful, succulent and unique pinot. Give it time to shine.

Francisco Baettig and Carlos de Carlo make this refined Pinot Noir from grapes selected from a couple of parcels of a dry-farmed vineyard in Traiguén (Malleco), a cool area with mild sunlight and volcanic soils. The fragrant nose presents notes of lavender, violet, sweet tobacco, mint, cherries and wet stone; while it’s vibrant and tense in the mouth with differently textured layers, chalky, grippy tannins and a lengthy finish.

The 2019 Selección de Parcelas Los Primos Pinot Noir was produced in search of finesse and complexity with grapes from the El Primo, Chuir and Las Cuñadas plots of the vineyard in Traiguén. The grapes were picked in early April as a result of a warm and dry year (all relative in the cooler and rainier south), and they fermented with 15% full clusters and indigenous yeasts (like all of the wines here) and matured in French oak barrels, 21% of them new 300-liter ones, for 15 months. It's only 13% alcohol and retained 6.75 grams of acidity (tartaric) with a pH of 3.37 (quite low). I love the elegant and complex nose that goes beyond the fruit and flowers, and it has nuance and detail, notes of iron and iodine and soy sauce à la Romanée-St-Vivant. This is more discreet and shy than Los Parientes, more austere and elegant. The palate is superb, ethereal with super fine tannins and vibrant acidity. There is great purity, and it's super clean and precise. - Luis Gutiérrez

The 2019 Pinot Noir Baettig Selección de Parcelas Los Primos comes from Malleco, Traiguen, and was aged for 15 months in 20% new French barrels. This is a textbook Pinot Noir. Cherry-red with a nose of allspice, blood and damp earth; enticing mushroomy notes appear after a while. The palate is compact with very fine-grained, polished tannins and a freshness that brings tension and energy, while the finish lingers at length. - Joaquín Hidalgo

Fermenteret i franske fade med naturlig gæring, delvist hele klaser. Herefter 15 måneder på 300-liters fade (42 % nye). Intense skovbærnoter og violer i duften. Blød og venlig på den gode måde med masser af røde bær, tobak, tebreve, roser og et hint vanilje. Yderst flot balanceret med en lang, let krydret afslutning. Meget indbydende.

Los Primos Pinot Noir 2018 er rent ud sagt helstøbt. En underspillet version af Los Parientes med mere jordede toner og mere sur kirsebær, den er cool, juicy, knitrende sprød, højt flyvende og alligevel solidt jordfæstet med koks og stærkt koncentreret hårdt ristet bøgehat.

Sweet berry and cherry undertones with flowers and orange peel. Full-bodied with extremely polished tannins that envelop the palate with a creamy texture that expands and carries on and on. Tight at the finish, suggesting that this will be one for the cellar.

The 2018 Selección de Parcelas Los Primos Pinot Noir is the second commercial vintage of the selected Pinot Noir. It's from a later-ripening year and a later harvest that delivered a wine with slightly lower alcohol and integrated acidity. Fermentation was similar to the 2017, native with 18% full clusters, and the élevage was slightly shorter—15 months in French barrels, 42% of them new 300-liter ones. The nose is a little more austere than the 2017, but the main difference is on the palate, where it's vibrant and vertical, with very good freshness. The nose is also a little more austere and nuanced, denoting a better year that has delivered wines with more depth. This opens up nicely in the glass, unfurling more detail and nuance, and it is floral and with notes of pomegranate and blue fruit. - Luis Gutierrez

The first Pinot Noir, the 2017 Selección de Parcelas Los Primos Pinot Noir was produced with grapes from the El Primo, Chuir and Las Cuñadas plots of the vineyard in Traiguén, which were selected for their finesse and complexity with the aim of producing elegant and austere wines with aging potential. 2017 was an early harvest as a result of a dry and warm year. It fermented with 31% full clusters and indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and matured for 18 month in French oak barrels, 21% of them new 300-liter ones. There is less difference between 2017 and 2018 in the reds than in the whites. This 2017 red feels quite fresh and bright, with a brightness of fruit that cries Chile to me, with hints of blood oranges, cherries and herbs, more fruit than earth or mushroom/forest notes. It's clean and balanced, dry and serious, with good acidity. - Luis Gutierrez

As I do with Francisco Baettig's two Chardonnay releases, I have a slight preference for the 2018 bottling. Made with 18% whole bunches and 42% new wood, it more than confirms the promise of the 2017, showing notes of wild strawberry and tobacco leaf, fine tannins, racy acidity and a subtlety and purity that wouldn't look out of place in Chambolle-Musigny.

Three clones (777, 828 and a Gevrey-Chambertin selection) make up the blend of this Malleco Pinot Noir from Francisco Baettig's exciting new project. Made with 31% whole bunches and 21% new wood, it's a subtle, racy, scented Pinot Noir with rose petal and wild strawberry notes and stony minerality. 2021-27