As far back as 1982, the founder of this cellar, Pablo Morandé, was discovering the benefits of Chile's great coastal-cooled regions. That was a decade before anyone else. He set up his winery in 1996 and has won scores of awards since then, including being five times Chile's Winery of the Year. Pablo was also named a 'Winemaking Legend' by MW Tim Atkin in 2017, while James Suckling called his "a leading and innovative winery", "a bold, experimental winemaking adventure project".
His winemaker is Jorge Martinez, who has worked at cellars worldwide, including Napa's Kendall Jackson and Pauillac's Léoville Poyferré. Carignan from 40-year-old vines in the warm Maule valley, this is a velvety, dark, spiced red. An ideal match with lamb shanks.
From the 4th-generation De Martino family, this is a rich, ripe red using Chile's speciality grape, Carmenère. It shows what elegance and richness can be achieved in Chile's best sites. The family are Italian, but left their homeland for South America in 1934. They made the Cachapoal Valley their new home and now have the largest holdings of organic vineyards in Chile.
Their wines always show a great sense of "place, purity and balance". Twice named 'Chilean Winery of the Year', they specialise in using sustainable practices in the vineyard and carefully match each grape to its optimum region. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in cool Limari, while Carmenère excels in the warmer Maipo Valley. Silky solo, it's tasty too with chicken or veggie bake.
