No es Pituko Natural Wines
Chile is a great place for Natural Wine and 'No es Pituko' are some of the best.
If you've ever thought of trying out a 'Natural Wine' this is as good a starting point as there is. First off Chile is one of the best countries in the world for these sorts of wines. Why, because their dry and sunny summers mean there's less need for spraying to control diseases which eases the path to organic growing. Secondly, the 'No es Pituko' range is made by the highly respected Viña Echeverria. Their winemaker, Roberto Echeverria Jr is responsible for their extensive range, but making wine with as little intervention as possible is something he's very keen on and the 'No es Pituko' range is his pet project to show how good they can be.
'No es Pituko' is a bit of Chilean slang which more or less translates as 'It ain't fancy' and sort of captures the essence of what they're trying to do here. They're all fresh and fruit-filled, very easily likeable, attractively labelled and not scarily priced. The bottles are also quite lightweight which further enhances the green credentials.
We're often asked 'What is Natural Wine?'. While there's no official definition you can take it that they're made with organically grown grapes which are fermented naturally. No sulphites (or any other chemicals) are used in the winemaking and they're not filtered or fined. That means they can be cloudy, which is not a fault and even enhances the flavour.
In our range we've got two white and two reds. The Chardonnay is juicy, vibrant, and utterly delectable with lively orange peel and lime flavours while the Viognier shows more apricots and pears. They both have a definite haziness but don't let that put you off. For the reds we have a bright brambly Cabernet Sauvignon with a bit of tannic crunch giving great drinkability and a fresh Carignan packed with black cherry aromas and hints of liquorice and dark chocolate.
At just £13 a bottle as part of a mixed 6 they're very good value and get their message over pretty well - they mightn't be fancy but they look the part and taste terrific. Why not take a closer look at them.............
