Vik La Piu Belle Tinto 2020

The Drinks Business

This strikingly packaged bottle from Vik features La Piu Belle, the goddess of Millahue, where the wine estate is based, painted by Gonzalo Cienfuegos specially for this expression. Notable in this 2020 release is the use of unique barrels to age the wine, which were made using oak staves toasted with fires fuelled by fallen branches from French oak trees on the property in the Cachapoal Valley. As for the taste of La Piu Belle, this is a seriously good Carmenère-dominant blend that’s soft and open, but not overdone or excessively alcoholic. It’s surprisingly easy-to-drink for a £50 barrique-aged top-end expression. The fruit is both fine and fleshy, ranging from ripe cherry and raspberry to blackberry, with notes of cracked pepper, roasted coffee, cedar and, finally, dark chocolate and toast. As for the finish, it’s fresh, featuring plenty of fine tannins, offering a gentle drying sensation – there’s a lovely structure to this wine.

James Suckling

Ripe and plush to the nose with some opulent spicy fruit, blackberries, dark plums and a hint of chocolate. Full-bodied and rich on the palate with dense, nicely chewy tannins and a pretty long finish. Nice acidity freshens it up. A blend of carmenere, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. 23 months in barrels, of which 45% is new Barroir oak (French barrels toasted with local oak trees). Around 15% of the wine was aged in amphorae made with local clay for eight months.

Vivino

(18056 bedømmelser. Gennemsnit over alle årgange. Set d. 10/2/2025)

James Suckling