Haras de Pirque by Antinori: Chilean top wines with Italian charm. Haras de Pirque is owned by the renowned Italian wine family Antinori and is located 30 km south of Santiago in one of the most prestigious areas of the Maipo Valley. It is located at the foot of the Cordillera de Los Andes, known for its unique geographical and climatic conditions. Haras de Pirque represents the blend of the New and Old wine world; a blend between Chile and Italy, a blend of different families with one shared passion: producing fantastic wines.

The Haras de Pirque wine cellar, which is shaped like a horseshoe, is nothing short of spectacular. A tribute to the oldest thoroughbred horse breeding facility in the country, established in 1892 just a stone's throw from the winery. The best racehorses from Chile came from here. The cellar, located on the hill, has been designed to integrate the element of gravity into all phases of wine production. This limits the use of equipment and guarantees a higher degree of energy savings and quality. Sustainability is very important to Haras de Pirque and guiding the entire business, from water management to 'people management'. Of course, this also includes organic farming. Since 2006, the focus has been on making organic wine. In 2016, the transition to organic viticulture was completed and all red wines are now certified organic.

The Haras de Pirque Galantas Gran Reserva is a blend of cabernet franc (85%) carmenere (15%). The grapes for this wine come from four different plots. After manual harvesting, the Cabernet Franc and the Carmenère grapes are fermented separately in stainless steel tanks and French oak barrels. The cold maceration prior to fermentation (3-5 days) aims to take full advantage of the aromatic components of the grapes. After fermentation, using only spontaneous yeasts, the wine is aged for 14 months in new French oak barrels.

The 2018 will be remembered in Haras de Pirque as a great vintage. The climate, which is usually cool, has made it possible to enhance the aromas and flavors of the grapes from the Maipo Valley. The Galantas Gran Reserva is a wine that can express the vibrant elegance and finesse of the unique terroir of the Maipo Andean Valley with the Cabernet Franc, says winemaker Cecilia Guzman Arriagada of this wine. The grapes come from the organic vineyards of Haras de Pirque, located in the Maipo Andean Valley at more than 700 meters above sea level. Here Cabernet Franc manages to express its important potential to the maximum, assisted by the cool nights of the foothills of the Andres. The goal of the Galantas Gran Reserva is therefore to boost the popularity of the cabernet franc grape.

The Galantas Gran Reserva is a wine with a red-purple color. In the nose scents of dark fruits such as blueberries and blackberries. The taste is smooth, full, persistent and characterized by pleasant tannins.

92/100 pts. - James Suckling
94/100 pts. - Tim Atkin Master of Wine
94/100 pts. - Descorchados

Cabernet franc, the pride of the Loire Valley, is also getting more and more playing time in Chile. This often results in atypical playing patterns. Too sweet, too massive, too ripe and to mask his characteristic wandering, often playing hide and seek behind emphatic oak. But look at it: 'Galantas represents the full expression of Cabernet Franc in the Maipo Andes Valley' knows the back label. Now experience shows that most Chilean cabernet francs that gave birth also had Maipo origins. And indeed this one also defends itself bravely. Ripe blackberries, dark plums, laurel licorice, the sweetness of roasted peppers and a bit of solar eclipse here and there for those so characteristic, attractive dark areas . Harold Hamerma, rated with a 9