# Pipeño Blanco "Carrizal" (2020)

- **Producer:** Louis-Antoine Luyt
- **Colour:** orange
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Torontel, Corinto, Cristalina, Muscat of Alexandria
- **Region:** Central Valley, Chile
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 12.7%
- **Average price:** €20
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now
- **Serving temperature:** 10–12 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** apricot, pear, peach, lemon, lime, passion fruit, pineapple, herbaceous, fennel, dried apricot, honey

## About this wine

Louis-Antoine Luyt, a native Burgundian who moved to Chile in 1998, is globally credited with reclaiming the term 'Pipeño'—historically a derogatory Chilean slang for rustic peasant wine. Sourced from independent grower Ernesto Soto in the Carrizal sub-zone of the Maule Valley, this wine is made from historical, un-grafted bush vines that are over 200 years old. Luyt's mission is to preserve these ancient pre-phylloxera vineyards by purchasing grapes at fair prices and showcasing the incredible heritage of Chilean viticulture through a natural wine lens.

## Interesting facts

- Made from incredibly old, un-grafted bush vines that are over 200 years old.
- Destemmed using a traditional Chilean 'zaranda', a manual bamboo and wooden grid.
- Bottled exclusively in traditional 1-liter bottles, a classic signature of rustic Chilean Pipeño.
- Fermented in open-top wooden vats called 'lagares' and aged in native rauli beechwood casks.

## Food pairing

This orange wine's medium-plus acidity cuts beautifully through fatty meats like roasted pork, while its light tannic structure and pronounced aromatic intensity allow it to stand up to spicy Southeast Asian curries and flavorful Chilean empanadas without being overpowered.

## Wine making process

The grapes are hand-harvested and manually destemmed using a traditional Chilean zaranda, a horizontal wooden and bamboo grid. Spontaneous fermentation is carried out by native yeasts with no temperature control in open-top wooden vats (lagares) on the skins for approximately three weeks. Following skin maceration, the wine is racked to traditional wooden casks called pipas (made of native rauli beechwood) and stainless steel tanks. It is bottled unfined and lightly filtered with minimal sulfur additions in traditional 1-liter bottles.