Roberto Henríquez ‘Tierra de Pumas’ Tinto 2020

Winemaker: Roberto Henríquez

Grapes: País

From the importer T. Edward: Roberto Henríquez studied agronomy and enology at the University of Concepción. From there, he travelled and worked with winemakers in Canada, South Africa and finally in the Loire Valley with Rene Mosse. Rene had a profound effect on Roberto’s perspective on winemaking and his progression into organic and biodynamic farming.

Roberto, originally from Concepción, returned home after his time in abroad to begin making his own wine. Returning to the traditional Pipeño methods of the original winemakers of Chile felt intuitive to the winemaking style he had adopted. The rest of his story to present is pure progression to the pursuit of the most pure wines in a true Chilean context.

His vineyards were personally and carefully selected. Working with long term fermage agreements, he farms all the land himself (with the help of farming animals). To the north, in Itata, he is working with a vineyard of old vine Semillon and blends that with Corinto (aka Chasselas) and Muscat d’Alejandria producing an orange style wine. A little further south, in Bío Bío, he is farming Pais, from which he makes the Pipeño and the Santa Cruz de Coya.

He works with carbonic macerations and ages in old Rauli wood barrels. His wines are light-bodied, translucent, refined, and full of character!

Tierre de Pumas: These vines are 2 kilometers inland from the Bío Bío river. The granitic soil has its origins in the volcanic activity that defined the coastal range called Cordillera de Nahuelbuta, which translates to ‘Cougar’s Land’ or ‘Tierre de Pumas’ in Spanish. The wine itself is appropriately named due to its complex, fruity and meaty character.