Garage Wine Co. San Francisco Passageiro Esondido
WHY WE LOVE IT
- The first San Francisco cuttings were accidentally imported to Chile in the 1500s among a shipment of Pais cuttings and was eventually identified then isolated, only being planted in very small quantities.
- It is now grown in the Sauzal, Puico Bajo & Alto – Maule Valley D.O. (Denomination of Origin).
- The Portuguese cuvee name ‘Passageiro Escondido’, or ‘hidden passenger’ in English.
Varietal Composition: 100% San Francisco (also known as Tinta Negra Mole in Maderia, Portugal)
Elaboration: Sourced from ancestrally farmed (by hand and horse [originario]) vineyards in Sauzal, Puico, and Puico Altos. Hand harvested. Fermented outside for nightly cool temps with indigenous yeasts in conical fermenters – open top lagars, with caps gently punched down by hand.Aged in neutral barrels.
Tasting Notes: Darker [and more serious] than many País out there with proper complexity and depth, ripe flavors and round tannins without ‘rusticity’. This is the character of the grape on granite soils made in small lots with focus.
PRESS
n/a
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
Derek Mossman, his wife Pilar Miranda, and Dr. Alvaro Peña are producing 1,500 cases total per year of old-vine Carignan, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, with fruit sourced from small growers in Maule and Maipo.
Winemaking here veers towards the “natural” spectrum – all wines are fermented with native yeast, see no additions of any kind, very little new wood, and are low in sulfites. Punch downs are by hand, and pressing is done in a small traditional basket. You may notice slight variation in bottle thickness and shape if you were to open up cases, as Derek Mossman takes recycling to the next level and actually reuses old bottles, bottling in salvaged, used wine bottles in partnership with a recycling company located near the winery. Derek is also the founder of M.O.V.I. (Movimiento de Viñateros Independientes), Chile’s exciting, fast-growing association of independent vintners.