Chile, Red Wines, Twelvish, Wine ReviewsSeptember 12, 2018<April 10, 2019

2016 Kingston Pinot Noir Alazan Casablanca Valley

by Meg Maker

Lean and linear Chilean Pinot Noir

This wine was raised in French oak and concrete egg for eight months. It’s lean, even a little austere, with solid acidity and an aromatic thread of tomato vine, rubbed thyme, and rosemary. The fruit is knife-edged, bright red and glistering with tart currant and cranberry. The finish is herbal verging on severe.

I like it. It is a fully realized Pinot Noir at 12.5% alcohol, a rarity in the New World, and not treated to much makeup. It lacks the blood and iron of Burgundy — Chile is not France — but it exhibits admirable restraint and freshness, and its herbaceousness lets it pair with young cheeses (especially goat) and other bright foods that need its cleansing edge.