2023 Bodega Volcanes Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon

With 2,900 volcanoes, Chile has a huge variety of volcanic soils spread across the country. Bodega Volcanes was founded in 2009 to honor this unique aspect of Chilean terroir. A Terroir Manager and Viticulturist were appointed to find the best vineyards to produce wines with tension and depth. Since 2018, a talented geologist has been employed 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 beginning and has since become 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 has brought erosion material from the mountains. It is therefore a mix of intrusive rock such as granite and rock that was deposited during volcanic eruptions. The wine has matured for 8 months in barrels of American and French oak. The Volcanes Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva has a bright, ruby red color. The nose is very expressive, with notes of red fruit, tobacco, sweet spices and a hint of smoke. The wine has a medium body, firm but ripe tannins and the taste of candied fruit, toast, menthol and liquorice.

Bodega Volcanos

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

The five-person team consisted of winemaker María del Pilar Díaz, geologist Gonzalo Hendriguez and terroir manager Agustín Aguerrea. They selected three vineyards, spread throughout Chile, which they believe convey the ultimate expression of a volcanic soil to the wines. In Rapel Valley this is a vineyard with a soil of silt, clay and loam supplemented with coarser material such as stones of Andesite (an extrusive rock). In Maule Valley they found a vineyard with a soil of (weathered) granite. In Malleco Valley the vineyard is planted on a 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. She succeeds very well, especially because excessive use of (new) wood is never made during fermentation and maturation. The wines are all lively and rich and have more complexity in aroma and flavour than comparable wines from the same region.