ROGUE VINE
Itata, Chile
Rogue Vine offers a completely different side to Chilean wine. Their region of Itata is an old and nearly forgottten viticultural valley with old bush vines growing on pure granitic soils. They are 400 km south of Santiago, far from central Chile and the factoties that produce wine there. The project is a collaboration between Justin Decker and Leo Erazo. Justin (from Indiana) and Leo (from Santiago) met at the viticultural university in Itata while teaching there. In 2014 they started making wines for themselves in a one car garage from lesser known varieties that were otherwise being blended away into cheap table wines.
Most of the vineyards they work with are in the Nipas and Guarilihue subregions of the Itata Valley. Previous to them the fruit was being sold off to these large companies even though the vineyards are planted with old vines and had been farmed organically for generations. Itata is similar to Champagne in that there are many growers but a small group of powerful fruit purchasers who dominate the market and control prices. Part of Rogue Vine’s mission is to promote the rich culture and history of this long neglected and rural farming community. Semillon is a perfect example of this, once being the most planted grape in the region. Despite a 500-year history in Itata it has been almost entirely ripped out, replaced and forgotten. Rogue intends on bringing it back.
All of the fruit is organic and is purchased directly from 3 different growers, all of whom they have had 10 year plus relationship with. The fruit come from the same plots every year so they get to know the vineyards well. These vineyards are worked entirely by hand or by horse – no tractors to compact the soil. All the vineyards are composed of hillside, dry-farmed bush vines that are a minimum of 60 years old, some up to 170. The soils are primarily composed of granite with a mix of clay and quartz and the wines are organized by variety, vineyard and soil type.
All of the fruit is handpicked. Wines are fermented and aged in cement or in oak, often using concrete globes for improved fermentation kinetics. The winemaking is hands-off, ferments are natural, and the wines are not sulfured until bottling when they go unfined and unfiltered. There is no temperature control in the winery.
About Itata:
The first vineyards in Itata were planted around the 1500s near the bay of Concepción, very close to the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish planted this region because the granite soil allowed the vines to survive without irrigation. Even today the valley is primarily dry-farmed bush vines. The viticulture of Itata lost its fame around the 1800s. Itata has a cold climate, poor granite soils and great oceanic influence.
The more central regions of chile are now changed to vertical shoot positioning and long rows of vines on wires, have irrigation and are planted on the flat lands. These things are easier to scale up and mechanize. The modern Chilean wine industry lives in central Chile. Itata is 400km away. During this modernization and mechanization period, the farms in Itata got smaller and smaller. The division of the land between families created a lot of vineyards that are between 3 to 5 ha. Today the number of vineyards in Itata is constantly decreasing. An increasing pressure to plant pine trees and eucalyptus trees constantly threatens the old vineyards.
Despite this constant pressure, some vignerons remain loyal to the old ways. Slow farming, low yields, working by hand and producing wines of elegance and terroir. Rogue is one of them.
Grand Itata Blanco (coming soon)
Moscatel, Semillon & Riesling. Each variety is fermented separately, though winemaking is the same. Direct press into old barrels for one year, then blended before bottling. Natural ferment, unfined and unfiltered. No sulfur until Bottling.
Jamon Jamon (coming soon)
Skin contact Moscatel from two different vineyards. Destemmed with 20% whole bunches. Maceration for 2 months. Fermented and aged in cement eggs, barrels and stainless. This wine was first made a few years ago, by mistake. The press broke and they were forced to macerate the white grapes. The food they eat it with most? Ham (Jamon).
Grand Itata Tinto
95% Cinsault, 5% Pais. This wine comes from a single vineyard and is picked all together. Destemmed, fermented on skins for about 2 weeks in cement then elevage for 1 year. Natural ferment, unfined and unfiltered. No sulfur until Bottling.
Macho Anciano
Made only in the best vintages, this comes from a single vineyard of 80+ year old vines on exposed granite bedrock. There are many interplanted Pais vines in the vineyard but they don’t take most of the Pais as Malbec ripens about 2-3 weeks earlier. 90 % destemmed. Fermented in Cement, 2 weeks on skins, aged in very old used oak barrels. 2 years of Elevage. Natural ferment, unfined and unfiltered. No sulfur until Bottling.
Retail
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