Marcelo Retamal is one of the most important winemakers in the Chilean wine world. Over his more than two-decade career, Retamal has been at the vanguard of the great strides forward in farming and viticulture that took place in the country. His sense of terruño is keen, as well as its translation into the wines he makes. Retamal (or Reta, as he is known) “retired” after 23 years of working for Viña De Martino to focus on his personal projects of Viñedos de Alcohuaz and RETA. RETA was born in 2019 with the acquisition of three vineyard sites that Reta thought most perfectly expressed Chilean terruño. Chardonnay from Quebrada Seca, pinot noir from Talinay, and Romelio, a malbec-based field-blend from an ancestral vineyard. All of the vineyards are dry-farmed with no chemicals. The tilling of the soil is done by horse-drawn plough and timed to prevent moisture loss. Harvest is by hand and and sulphur is only added after malo finishes, and then judiciously. These wines are some of the best applications of Burgundian philosophy to Chilean terroir.

Quebrada Seca comes from 30-year-old chardonnay vines planted at 236 meters on limestone and clay. It is on the fourth terrace above the river. The site is very dry and because of that the vine parcels have dwindled over the years to those that best are exposed to the camanchaca, a dewy mist that comes off the Pacific Ocean and settles over the vineyards. In addition to providing small amounts of moisture, the camanchaca also cools the vineyards and preserves the grapes’ freshness. The wine is hand harvested, whole-cluster pressed, and fermented in old Burgundy barrels with indigenous yeasts before maturing in those barrels for two years. These vines produce a chardonnay of stunning mineral texture melded onto a taught flesh of pears and green apples and white flowers.

95 points by Robert Parker