In the International Wine & Spirits Competition: BEST CARMENÈRE IN CHILE AWARD FOR VIÑA DE MARTINO

We would like to share some great news with you which successfully crowns Viña De Martino’s 75th anniversary, and which we consider to be the most important international landmark so far this year: our 2007 Single Vineyard ‘Alto de Piedras’ has won the Best Carmenère award in London’s prestigious and renowned International Wines & Spirits Competition (IWSC).

This great distinction fills us with pride and reaffirms the leading role we play in Chile with this grape variety; the fruit of the tireless work we have carried out for more than a decade in order to reach the level of consistency which today characterizes all of our wines.

Furthermore, this achievement represents for us an acknowledgment of the pioneering work which has characterized Viña De Martino, work which dates back to 1996 when we registered the Carmenère grape variety in Chile and became the first Chilean winery to export it. This marked the beginning of a long and successful path in constant search of quality and innovation.

For Pietro De Martino, General Manager, “this is a hugely valuable and special acknowledgement for us, as the wine comes from our own vineyards in Isla de Maipo, and that’s why our congratulations go to the technical staff, the winemaker and the team in the field as it is essentially their work with the grape that has allowed us to achieve this wine.”

Indeed, our winemaking team has vinified more than 350 vineyards in search of the best terroir. From there came the Single Vineyard line to which our prize-winning ‘Alto de Piedras’ belongs: a line which is the result of the tireless search for unique and select vineyards that manage to express Chile’s incredible diversity.

Marcelo Retamal, winemaker at Viña De Martino, agrees that this “is an award for the multitasking team, and it’s the result of 14 years’ work trying to understand the grape variety. Thanks to that work we have found the key to Carmenère, which is one of the most complicated grape varieties in the world. However, this wine can always be improved upon, and, as the vineyard matures, we will achieve better and better wines.”

The acknowledgement from the IWSC is preceded by a series of distinctions that the wine has won in Chile throughout the year. In the 2010 Descorchados guide – edited by wine journalist Patricio Tapia – the wine was awarded 91 points for the 2008 harvest, whilst in the next edition of the Guide to the Wines of Chile it is awarded 4 glasses, the maximum distinction that the publication awards to the wines it tastes. Indeed, it was in this guide that the Single Vineyard Carmenère was acknowledged as the best Chilean Carmenère in 2007 and 2008.
 
Coming from our 100% organic vineyards in Isla de Maipo, ‘Alto de Piedras’ has already accumulated numerous acknowledgements which, when added to its consistency and quality, simply make it the best Carmenère in Chile.