Wine Club: 2019 Winemaker of the Year!!!

We love every single wine that we pick for Wine Club. Yet, there’s one month’s selection that holds a special place in our hearts every year, and that’s our Winemaker of the Year picks. We scour the world of Latino wine, looking for one person doing something truly special, truly unique, making super honest and intriguing wines that represent our mission at Grand Cata.

Of course, we find many. So many winemakers in Latin America are making special wines. Which is why we are super excited to announce that we’ve selected Christian Sepúlveda of J. Bouchon Winery in the Maule Valley of Chile!

The Winemaker

J. Bouchon has been on our radar for nearly a decade. While we’ve always enjoyed their wines, we’ve noticed that since bringing on Christian as their Chief Winemaker in 2016, their wines have become world class. Crucially, Christian’s work speaks of a sense of place and history. He decided to work in the Maule Valley, and specifically Bouchon, because of the access to super old vines, growing grapes that until recently had been forgotten in the story of Chilean wine production.

Christian Sepúlveda teaching about the distinct terroir of J. Bouchon’s vineyards

The specific grape that we focused on for this release is País. However, Bouchon also has access to old vine Carignan, Semillon, and Cinsault, in addition to more common varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon. Christian loves working with these lesser known, more esoteric varietals because it allows him to play his role in preserving Chile’s winemaking and grape growing history, while simultaneously propelling these crafts to new heights. No doubt, J. Bouchon, with Christian at the helm, are charting a new path in Chilean wine that pulls heavily from the past. And the results speak for themselves!

The Wines

País Salvaje Blanco - While there are a fair number of “blanc de noir” País wines - or white wines made from this red varietal through no skin contact - this is actually made from a super rare mutation of the grape with a slightly green, golden hue. Christian tracked the mutation to the Canary Islands, where País originally came from and still grows. There, it goes by the name Listán Prieto. Bouchon found this rare sub-variety in their “wild” vineyards. These vineyards for decades have been barely trained and pruned, with the vines actually growing up trees and requiring a ladder to harvest!

Bouchon’s País grapes literally grow among the trees!

The aromas and flavors of this wine are incredible. The wine has that rare quality of managing to take your breath away while remaining approachable. It is complex and layered, but all of its components work so well together that you never feel overwhelmed.

País Salvaje Tinto - Few grapes encapsulate what we do here at Grand Cata better than País. Until recently it was nearly given up on and the resurgence of this historic varietal makes us smile. Christian has played a central role in bringing this grape to prominence. This wine demonstrates the special qualities of the grape, from its distinct fruit profile, to its light touch of smokiness and floral spiciness. Christian allows 30% of the grapes to go through carbonic maceration, which brightens and intensifies the fruit notes while giving the wine freshness that makes having just one glass nearly impossible.

The release party will start at 2pm on Sunday. Also, in both November and December, we will release Wine Club early for the holidays. See you soon!