De Martino - Legado Maipo Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Although established in Maipo in 1934, De Martino has been one of the Chile’s most adventurous wineries in terms of seeking different and distinctive terroirs. Working with vineyards across the country from the white limestone soils of cool, coastal Limarí down to new vines grown on volcanic slopes in southerly Malleco, De Martino’s winemaking team has been restless in their search for innovative new wine regions and varieties.

But De Martino has also been one of Chile’s most instrumental wineries in promoting old vines in the historic region of Itata, and bringing back artisanal traditions such as ageing in tinajas (Chilean amphorae), as their exemplary Viejas Tinajas wines show. The family have also been recently focusing on their Isla de Maipo terroir and seeking out the potential there not only for red wines (with Cabernet Sauvignon being the star) but also for white wines, including a delicious Semillon.

Their commitment to sustainability is a strong differenciator for this winery: De Martino has adopted drip irrigation for all its fields, an approach that is all the more meaningful since the central region of Chile is projected to suffer from drought. Other water-saving techniques have been adopted in the winery, resulting in water use that is about 50% of the average for the industry. Pushing even further, some of their wines such as the Single Vineyard Las Cruces are produced from dry fields with no irrigation.