Bouchon Pais Salvaje Blanco 2023

Pais — also known as Listan Prieto in the Canary Islands, Mission Grape in California and Criolla Chica in Argentina — was brought to Chile in 16th century by Spanish Missionaries, who stopped along the way to leave plantings in the Canary Islands. Much of Chile was replanted to Bordeaux varietals in the 18th and 19th centuries, however the poorer farmers of Bio-Bio, Itata and Maule Valley did not rip out their Pais vines and there are extremely old vine plantings throughout these regions. Historically, Pais was used to produce unremarkable bulk wines, however great work has been undertaken in recent years to create wines of character and elegance. These grapes are hardy, disease-resistant and grow easily in arid climates, without the need for irrigation. They are thin-skinned and extremely vigorous, capable of giving huge yields. They are also irregularly-sized, some growing quite large and without careful sorting can lead to watery, thin wines. They are fairly low acid, but rich with sugars, so harvesting as early as possible for phenolic ripeness is key to making quality wines.