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 Chalinga comes from the vineyard Talinay, a 20-year-old plot of ungrafted pinot noir in Limarí, 12 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean at 160 meters. The site has a gentle western exposure on limestone, granite, and clay. The ocean keeps the site cool, and despite low rainfall, there is a maritime moisture that the vines benefit from. Reta feels that of all the pinot noir vineyards in Chile, Talinay stands out for “its ability to make wines with an achingly delicate balance between fruit and minerality.” The 2021 vintage matured very slowly and was handpicked before fermenting with 60% whole-cluster with indigenous yeasts. The extraction was kept to a minimum and the maceration lasted 30 days. It is elegant and fine-boned. The stone is tied gently to tiny shining bunches of red cherries and mountain strawberries and raspberries. The finish is harmonious and ethereal.

95 points from Robert Parker