Home >Wine Store >Maquis Carmenère

Cherry, black tea, tobacco, bell pepper, redcurrant, smoke.

The Hurtado family has owned the Viña Maquis vineyard for more than a century, but it wasn’t until ten years ago that the family decided to make their own wine out of the terrific grapes in their own backyard. They built a gorgeous, state-of-the-art gravity flow winery and set out to make a “Super Chilean” blend using the vineyard’s best red grapes. Located in the Colchagua Valley, the vineyards are surrounded by the Tinguiririca River and the Chimbarongo Creek. Since 2005, Maquis has worked with consulting viticulturist Xavier Choné, who also consults with iconic wineries like Château d’Yquem and Opus One. Under Xavier’s influence the vineyards are strategically planted and farmed with minimal irrigation. Carmenère is planted in the warmest spots and Cabernet Franc in the cooler areas. Winemaking specialist Jacques Boissenot—who consults with four of the five Bordeaux first growths: Châteaux Margaux, Lafite, Latour, and Mounton Rothschild—is at the helm of the winemaking team.

While this Carmenère will pair nicely with all sorts of savory vegetarian fare, it makes no apologies for its real preference: beautifully cooked meat. For vegetable dishes and sides, look to lentils, eggplant, black beans, wild mushrooms and red bell peppers. But for the main event, consider rare steaks, thick chops, slabs of ribs and smoky roasts.

“I want to do to you what spring does with the cherry trees” Pablo Neruda, Chilean Nobel Prize poet