Antinori buys Chilean winery Haras de Pirque
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Italian wine giant Marchesi Antinori has bought Haras de Pirque winery for an undisclosed fee.
Antinori said this week that it has purchased Haras de Pirque, which has 100 hectares of vineyards in Chile’s Maipo Valley, from the Matte family.
The family-owned Italian wine group, which produces Super Tuscan favourite Tignanello and also owns the Antica winery in Napa Valley, has been in a joint-venture with the Matte family at Haras de Pirque since 2003.
Marchese Piera Antinori discovered the Maipo Valley estate in 2001 and the the two families subsequently collaborated to create Albis, the winery’s flagship wine.
Albis is ablend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Carménère – Chile’s signature grape but also with a strong French heritage and still one of the grapes allowed in Bordeaux red blends.
‘We are very excited to continue our Chilean venture’, said Albiera Antinori, president of Marchesi Antinori. ‘We will focus on enhancing the quality of our estate-grown fruit through sustainable and organic vineyard practices’.
Eduardo Matte acquired Haras de Pirque in 1991, after a business career in Chile’s private sector.
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The domaine extends over 600 hectares, including 100 hectares of vineyards planted with Carménère, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon blanc and Chardonnay grapes.
Located in the upper Maipo Valley, the region has a Mediterranean climate with rains occurring mainly in the winter.
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Bordeaux native Yohan Castaing is a freelance journalist, based in France. He reviews wines from the Loire, Languedoc, Roussillon, Provence, southwest France and Champagne houses for The Wine Advocate. He founded Anthocyanes, a French wine guide, and Velvety Tannins, a guide to the wines of the Rhône Valley. He also writes for wine publications including Gault&Millau and Jancis Robinson. Castaing has held a variety of positions in the wine industry such as wine buyer and marketing director. He was a wine marketing consultant and the author of several books about wine marketing and wine tourism before, in 2011, he became a full-time freelance wine journalist focusing on the industry and wine reviews.