Roberto Henriquez

Roberto Henriquez and natural wine

We travel for you at Epicurieux. We crossed the Atlantic and landed in Chile to meet Roberto Henriquez. Roberto Henriquez is wines from vines over 200 years old, on a soil of great freshness. He believes in traditional winemaking methods and for that, we thank him! His wines are absolutely incredible and worth discovering.

Bio bio Itata as seen by Roberto Henriquez

Born in Concepcion, Chile in 1984, Roberto Henriquez immersed himself in the wine world thanks to his uncle. He will study agronomy and oenology, then travel around the world to immerse himself in the wine cultures of different countries. It will be enriched in particular by winemaking practices in France, Canada, South Africa and of course, Chile.
In France, Roberto will meet Domaine Mosse, and Joseph Mosse himself will come to Chile in 2014, for 6 months, to discover Chilean practices. A rewarding adventure for everyone. Roberto Henriquez, convinced of the potential of his land and natural winemaking, will put into practice everything he has learned from his many experiences and personal knowledge.
It was in May 2015 that he started on his own. Roberto Henriquez sets up in the south, in the regions of Bio Bio and Itata. Where the vines are more than 200 years old, a chance in particular thanks to phylloxera which has not established itself in this sector. Roberto is one of those winegrowers who believe in zero input in the production of wines, especially in this part of the old south of Chile. A vision that does not reflect the Chilean culture, this one makes fun of traditional methods. The soils are very diversified, particularly in the Bio Bio region, with granitic, quartz, red clay, basaltic and alluvial soils.
The climate is rather favorable there to keep cool with a cool spring, temperatures that do not exceed 30 degrees in summer, and the transition between autumn and winter which is quite short. Another characteristic of Roberto's wines, the altitude. Its vines are located on south-facing slopes, between 200 and 400 meters above sea level. Biodiversity is present there with the cultivation of different resources such as corn, fruit, all planted along the vines.

The wines of Roberto Henriquez

The harvest at Roberto is manual, the grapes begin their transformation in a destemmed way. The juices will then begin their fermentation in concrete vats or old oak barrels. The wines are not filtered, and the addition of sulfite is carried out only if it is necessary. Roberto Henriquez cultivates 7 hectares of vines on 4 different plots near the Cordillera de Nahuelbuta. The grape varieties that make up the wines of Roberto Henriquez are País for the red wines and Muscat of Alexandria, Chasselas, Corinto, Sémillon for the whites. Epicurieux has selected four bottles for lovers of natural red wines, and more particularly for those who love the País grape variety.
Roberto Henriquez has set out to conquer very old vines, but thanks to its ideal exposure, he keeps a lot of freshness in his wines, lots of fruit and spices.
The 2021 Riviera del Notro Tinto bottle, which comes from the Bio bio region, comes from vines between 150 and 200 years old pre-phylloxera (that is to say, planted after the appearance of phylloxera) and from the País grape variety. A carbonic maceration that lasts 2 weeks to keep the best of the fruit. A beautiful signature of the winemaker!
There is the 2020 Santa Cruz de Coya, where the País grape variety is more than 200 years old on this bottle, the vine was cultivated in goblets, on granitic soil and alluvium. Here, there were 2 weeks of pellicular maceration, always in a destemmed way. There was also gentle punching down every day for a week, and aging was done in wood. This 100% País is vegetal, spicy, fruity, fresh… everything we love.
Welcome to the Cordillera de Puma, on granite soils, with the Tierra de Pumas 2020, 100% País too. The maceration was carried out in a destemmed manner for 3 weeks in vats. As for the ageing, 90% was done in cement vats and 10% in barrels.
The last 100% País is the Franco 2020. A beautiful expression of the soil on this bottle, which was picked up on alluvial soil, at an altitude of 800m on the edge of the Biobio. The vines are over 200 years old, the maceration was destemmed and the aging was done in cement vats.