Chenin Blanc, Longav “Cementerio” 2023

Maule Valley, Chile.

Ive only felt like I was in the beginning of a horror film once or twice in my life. One year after I last saw Haridimos, in an antipodal February summer, a driver I couldnt communicate with dropped me off somewhere four hours south of Santiago and maybe 30 minutes in from the coast. I was in the Maule Valley, amidst the pine forests and low mountains that span the coast of Chile. I was at a winery, called J. Bouchon, which was founded in the 19th century, and there wasnt a soul around. Anywhere. I took one look at a bleached bulls skull adorning the winery wall, stared deep into a couple of soil pits, and the panicked anxiety of watching too much Children of the Corn at a young age set in quick.

Kidding. Mostly. After an hour or so Julio Bouchon himself drove up. (Whew.) We walked out among Cabernet, Carmenre, and old salvaje Pas vines. We had an amazing dinner and a lengthy conversation. The next morning somebody else picked me up and we drove headlong into a coastal forest fire to marvel at vines and eat urchins, but that’s a different story. The point is: Julio Bouchon is one of Chiles most important winemakers, and the work he is doing with Longav is pretty spectacular. This Soberano bottling is dry-farmed Carignan, from a parcel planted in 1960, and it shows the world whats possible in Chile when transparency and terroir are the focus. Its delicious.

-Matt

Must be 21 years old to purchase. ID is required at delivery or in-store pickup.