Tasting the top wines of Chile’s Viña Maquis

Chile’s Viola and Franco expressions by Viña Maquis were lauded in our Bordeaux Masters competition. We discover why with in-depth tasting notes.

AMONG THE brands of hors Bordeaux sold via the négociants, Chile’s Viña Maquis must be one of the most exciting.

Using La Place to distribute its Franco and Viola labels, Maquis has added a pair of distinctive and delicious wines to the increasing number of top-end bottles from outside of Bordeaux that are sold by the French traders in September.

Gaining Gold and Master medals in this year ’s Bordeaux Masters when tasted alongside not only great bottles from France, but also Italy and California, Viña Maquis stands out for quality and personality. Not unlike the cru classé reds from Bordeaux, the wines from Maquis have an appealing restraint, offering a fruit profile that is fully ripe, but never raisined, with flavours that are intense, without sacrificing refreshment, and a structure that is fine, but built to last. These drops keep for decades, slowly softening and developing greater complexity with time.

But they aren’t copies of anything from Bordeaux, nor Napa nor Tuscany. The great wines of Maquis owe their unique character to a range of inimitable factors: fantastic free-draining gravelly soils, ungrafted old vines, the perfect grapegrowing climate of Colchagua, sustainable viticulture, and expert winemaking, with the help of the Médoc’s master blender, Eric Boissenot.

The two wines sold via La Place are also exceptional in Chile. With the Franco and Viola labels being expressions of Cabernet Franc and Carmenère respectively, they differ from the more common varietal Cabernet Sauvignons, or Bordeaux blends of South America. In each case, the Maquis wines are considered icons of their category. Indeed, having tasted the Franco 2016 and 2012 in June this year, the judges of the Bordeaux Masters felt that this wine was not only Chile’s top Cabernet Franc, but possibly the world’s greatest expression of this grape.

The following tasting notes were provided by Bordeaux Masters judge Patricia Stefanowicz MW.

VIÑA MAQUIS, MAQUIS FRANCO 2012

• Producer: Viña Maquis
• Region: Colchagua
• Country: Chile
• Grape variety: 100% Cabernet Franc
• Abv: 14.0%
• Vintage: 2012
• Closure: Cork
• Approx. retail price: £75.00
• Medal: Master – Bordeaux Masters 2023

The Viña Maquis vineyards were originally planted by Jesuit priests in the 18th century. The property was owned by two Chilean presidents in the XIX century. And then in 1916, Maquis was acquired by the Hurtado family to develop a fine wine business. They have. This stunning Cabernet Franc has a deep ruby-purple colour belying its age. The bouquet shows cassis and violets with tobacco and smoke and leafy and peppermint nuances. Packed with dark berries and plum, the palate has brisk acidity, dense linen-textured tannins, round mid- palate and excellent length. Showing a little development with a gamey note, the wine will pair well with pan-fried guinea fowl in an herbed red wine sauce. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW)

VIÑA MAQUIS, MAQUIS FRANCO 2016

• Producer: Viña Maquis
• Region: Colchagua
• Country: Chile
• Grape varieties: 94% Cabernet Franc, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon
• Abv: 14.0%
• Vintage: 2016
• Closure: Cork
• Approx. retail price: £75.00
• Medal: Gold – Bordeaux Masters 2023

Thanks to the very old river deposits, the Viña Maquis terroir comprises deep alluvial soils of about two metres of clay to facilitate some water retention over a deeper layer of gravel giving excellent drainage. So, the bunches and berries are small, giving ripe concentrated flavours. Deep garnet-hued, the wine exhibits blackcurrant and dried plums, fragrant with cedar-wood and tar and roses. Very ripe, rich and concentrated, the palate flavours are complex and layered, balanced by lively acidity and linen-textured tannins, leading to a long, savoury finish. A full-bodied wine best served with venison chilli, or perfectly cooked rump steak. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW)

VIÑA MAQUIS, MAQUIS VIOLA 2010

• Producer: Viña Maquis
• Region: Colchagua
• Country: Chile
• Grape varieties: 90% Carménère, 10% Cabernet Franc
• Abv: 13.5%
• Vintage: 2010
• Closure: Cork
• Approx. retail price: £75.00
• Medal: Gold – Bordeaux Masters 2023

Viña Maquis is located at the heart of the Colchagua Valley, between the Tinguiririca River and the Chimbarongo Creek. The waterways act as paths for coastal breezes that protect the vineyards from frost and moderate the warm summers, thus increasing fresh fruit and floral aromas, giving the wines more vibrancy on the palate and moderating alcohol levels. Maquis Viola comes from a small plot of Carménère nearby one of the rivers at the property and just in front of one of the biological corridors next to the cellar. Quite deep ruby coloured, the wine exhibits ripe summer pudding fruits with vanilla and violet and eucalyptus notes. Full and rich, the wine has bold tannins and racy acidity, great flavour expression, tertiary development and a long finish. A wine to match lightly poached sirloin steak with sugar snap peas, red onion and black olives with minced red chilli and basil to garnish. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW)

VIÑA MAQUIS, MAQUIS VIOLA 2015

• Producer: Viña Maquis
• Region: Colchagua
• Country: Chile
• Grape varieties: 87% Carménère, 13% Cabernet Franc
• Abv: 13.5%
• Vintage: 2015
• Closure: Cork
• Approx. retail price: £75.00
• Medal: Gold – Bordeaux Masters 2023

Eric Boissenot, one of the most important ‘master blenders’ in the Bordeaux region, acts a ‘blending consultant’ to Viña Maquis. Eric, and his father Jacques before him, achieve elegance by filling the mid-palate and suppleness by adjusting picking dates and managing extraction of tannins in a softer manner during fermentation and maceration. This elegant wine is a result of the processes. Deep ruby with a garnet rim showing some development, the wine is aromatic with rose petal notes and peppermint lifting the cassis and Victoria plum fruit and tobacco oak. Dry, beautifully balanced, the wine shows fresh acidity, linen tannins and concentrated flavours. An elegant wine with great length, it will match sliced beef tenderloin sauced with madeira, herbs, shallots and mushrooms. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW)