2022 Bodega Volcanes Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon

With 2,900 volcanoes, Chile has an enormous variety of volcanic soils spread throughout the country. Bodega Volcanes was founded in 2009 to honor this unique aspect of the Chilean terroir. A Terroir Manager and Viticulturist were appointed to find the best vineyards for wines with excitement and depth. Since 2018, a talented geologist has been used who specializes in the influence of volcanic soil on the style of the wine. Winemaker María del Pilar Díaz has been involved in the project from the very beginning and is now an established name in the Chilean wine world.

This Cabernet grape for the Volcanes comes from a vineyard located in Rapel Valley. The soils are all of volcanic origin because they were deposited by the river that brought erosion material from the mountains. It is therefore a mix of intrusive rocks such as granite and rocks deposited during volcanic eruptions. The wine has matured for 8 months in American and French oak barrels. The Volcanes Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva has a bright, ruby red color. The nose is very expressive, with notes of red fruit, tobacco, sweet herbs and a hint of smoke. The wine has a medium body, firm but ripe tannins and the taste of candied fruit, toast, menthol and licorice.

Bodega Volcanos

Bodega Volcanes is a project that started in 2009 and is part of the Grupo Vinos del Pacifico (GVP). A number of employees from this group came up with the idea of making a series of wines that would come from vineyards with 100% soils of volcanic origin.

The five-person team included winemaker María del Pilar Díaz, geologist Gonzalo Hendriguez and terroir manager Agustín Aguerrea. They have selected three vineyards, spread throughout Chile, that they believe convey the ultimate expression of volcanic soil in the wines. In Rapel Valley this is a vineyard with soil of silt, clay and loam supplemented with coarser material such as Andesite stones (an effluent rock). In Maule Valley they found a vineyard with a soil of (weathered) granite. In Malleco Valley, the vineyard is planted on soil of so-called “Tolhuaco”, which consists of the ash of a volcano. María Díaz strives to express the purity and minerality of the soils in the wines. This works very well, especially because excessive use of (new) wood is never used during fermentation and maturation. The wines are all lively and rich and have more complexity in smell and taste than comparable wines from the same region.