Lomas de Llahuen, Desorden Tinto - 2024
Fast Facts:
Winemaker(s): Gustavo Riffo
Region: Portezuelo → Valle del Itata → Chile
Varietal(s): País, Syrah, Garnacha, Cinsault, Cariñena
Terroir: Granitic soils with red clay, dry-farmed; Pacific coastal breezes
Serving Temp: 55-60°F
Gustavo Riffo grew up in Portezuelo, a dry pocket of the Itata Valley where his family has been farming vines dry for generations. The winery started small in 1986: Gustavo and his brother Francisco made around 600 liters, fermented it in pipas of raulí (the native southern-beech wood most often used in Itata wine), and sold it by the damajuana. You know, the big glass jug you bring back to get refilled, AKA carboy.
A lucky government grant sent Gustavo off to study winemaking and farming, and a harvest at Benziger in Sonoma put the biodynamic world right in front of him. He brought all of it back home, and today the family works biodynamically with more than 20 hectares of their own vines, much of it old País that's been in the ground over a hundred years, alongside Cinsault and a smattering of other reds (as you can see from the cépage list above). Everything is dry-farmed, what Chileans call secano interior: no irrigation, leaving the vines to push roots down through granite and red clay to find their own water.
Desorden de Tintos means "a jumble of reds," quite appropriately. Instead of bottling each variety on its own, Gustavo gathers his red grapes into one bright, easygoing, chillable wine, built around the old País and Cinsault that anchor his vineyards. Rustic, super friendly, and a chameleon for your food adventures.
Why'd we pick it?
The "disorder" in the name is part of the charm that boasts its rustic and wild nature. Fittingly, phylloxera (the root louse that chewed through Europe's vineyards) never reached Chile, so the old vines behind this bottle still grow on their own original roots. We love a wine that asks nothing of you. And honestly that's a bit of a theme this month as we pour ourselves into the sunshine bliss. Throw it in the fridge for half an hour and watch it disappear faster than anything else on the table.
Field Notes
- Tastes like: Crunchy raspberry and pomegranate, some garden herbs, white pepper, and a wisp of smoke. High-toned and light on tannin, finishing savory and faintly earthy.
- Serve it after a 30 minute stint in the fridge. 55-60°F rules.
- Food Pairings: Cumin-and-chili-rubbed pork skewers on the grill would really love this wine's bright acid. Might as well throw on some spot prawns while they're in season. Or, char up some broccolini and dress it with romesco and toasted pine nuts. And keep a bowl of blistered padrón peppers with flaky salt within arm's reach for everybody.
