Novas Gran Reserva Pinot Noir, DO Valle de Casablanca (Organic)

Novas Gran Reserva Pinot Noir is a red wine made from organically grown grapes sourced from vineyards in the Casablanca Valley.

Vinedos Emiliana was founded in 1986 by the Guilisasti family. In the late 1990s Rafael and José Guilisasti had the foresight to see how popular and important organic and sustainable viticulture would become. They enlisted the help of winemaking consultant Alvaro Espinoza to convert their exisiting wine over to 100% organic and biodynamic. More than a decade later major national and international awards are a testament to the quality of their wines. Vinedos Emiliana is also Chile’s largest organic producer with 250 hectares of vineyards IMO and Demeter certified and an additional 250 hectares in conversion. Vinedos Emiliana has vineyards in Maipo, Casablanca, Rapel, Colchagua and Bio-Bio. José Guilisasti also runs one of Chile’s foremost vine nurseries so they have access to the newest and best clones in Chile.

The Novas range of wines consists of monovarietal and blended wines sold as Gran Reservas. The Novas Gran Reserva Pinot Noir is made from grapes sourced from vineyards in Valle de Casablanca. The Casablanca Valley is influenced by its proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its coastal breezes that moderate temperatures. The poor, sandy loam soils are alluvial in origin, relatively shallow and very permeable, resulting in yields which are generally low in comparison with other Chilean valleys. Temperatures are much cooler here, allowing the grapes to ripen very slowly to produce rich flavoured wines.

The Pinot Noir grapes are harvested into 400kgs bins for transport to the winery where first the clusters and then the grapes (after destemming) are selected on a conveyor belt. Once in the tank, they undergo a pre-fermentation maceration for 3 days, followed naturally by alcoholic fermentation with native yeasts. During fermentation there is a gentle pump over. This is followed by a two to three day post-fermentation maceration with malolactic fermentation occuring spontaneously in stainless steel tanks and barrels. 70% of the Novas Gran Reserva Pinot Noir is aged for 6 months in French oak barrels.

No animal products are used in fining this wine, it is thus suitable for both vegans and vegetarians