January 2012-

In the ninth edition of the competition, the jury was made up of experts from different countries; Peter Richards, Master of Wine from the United Kingdom; Lisa Perrott—Brown, Master of Wine from Singapore; Mai Tjemsland, Master of Wine from Norway; Debra Meiburg, Master of Wine from Hong Kong; Marcelo Copello from Brazil; Bill St. John from the United States; Bengt-Göran Kronstam from Sweden; Patricio Tapia from Chile and Anthony Gismondi from Canada.

Castillo de Molina Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from the best vineyards Viña San Pedro currently owns in Elqui Valley, which present sandy silt loam soils with the presence of angular stones in all of their profile. The vineyard receives a strong marine influence, since it is located approximately 20 kilometers from the ocean in a straight line.

August, 2011.-

The British magazine published on its August edition a special feature about Chile and Argentina, entitled “Finding El Dorado”, on which Richards qualified our country as “a viticultural paradise”, for the diversity in vines and origins it offers, and chose the Top 15 best wineries, out from the over 200 existing in the country.

Regarding San Pedro, the English expert highlighted the vast improvement of quality undertaken along the last decade, in all of this winery’s lines of wines, varieties and vineyards, as well as the incorporation of new origins for its fruit, which in his view has had “dramatic effect”… In the best sense of the word.

“The most notable is Elqui, where San Pedro now makes outstanding Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc”, stresses Richards, precisely granting 4 stars, this is, a highly recommendable qualification, to the wine Castillo de Molina Sauvignon Blanc from Elqui Valley, vintage 2010, saying:

“Consistently one of Chile’s best-value Sauvignon Blancs, this comes bursting with tangy flavours of gooseberries, tomato leaf and ripe citrus fruit. A fantastic wine for its price”.

Undoubtedly, a great example of the “unbounded creativity” highlighted by Richards on his article.

Two of our wines attained excellent scores in this publication. 

 On one hand, 1865 Single Vineyard 2009 stemming from the Leyda Valley was qualified with 92 points. This Sauvignon Blanc was described as a wine of intense flavors, maritime as few, with salty and iodized notes, along a stone-like acidity. Recommended to enjoy chilled, along a seabass sashimi.

 Also, our awarded Castillo de Molina Reserva 2009 from the Elqui Valley reached 90 points, being highlighted its green-chili notes, strong acidity, hard body, great volume and freshness. Ideal to pair with a seabass “tiradito” (kind of ceviche without onion).

Two outstanding options for this Easter Week!!

Wednesday, October 7th of 2009.- On a springtime evening, accompanied by outstanding wines, good food, music and a joyful cordiality, Viña San Pedro had the honor to host last night a closure evening for the select Jury of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles-Chile 2009.

This competition is the Chilean version of one of the most relevant wine contests worldwide. For this, its third edition in the country, the organizers chose the Curicó Valley to carry out the tasting, acknowledging the region’s history and great tradition as a producer of top quality wines.

Culminating the tasting sessions in the region and being one of the great representatives of this valley, San Pedro together with the Curicó Valley Wine Route invited Vinopres, the competition’s representatives in Chile, the event’s National and International Jury, representatives from ProChile Maule and from the Corfo Maule Wines of Chile 2020 Program, the Curicó Valley Wine Route associates and its President, Mr. Eugenio Eben Oyanedel, the winemakers and executives from neighboring wineries, besides members of the media, to enjoy a toast with San Pedro’s awarded wine Castillo de Molina Sauvignon Blanc from Elqui, a tasting of local wines and a cocktail in the centenary underground cellar of the winery, all accompanied by life jazz music.

This way, the expert’s group finished a very dynamic program of activities, specially prepared for them to enjoy this gifted zone.

The main goal is to internationally boost and widespread the Curicó Valley, the quality of its wines and its appealing attractiveness as a tourist destination.

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The Ecoglass bottles from Cristalchile, which San Pedro is launching for its brands Castillo de Molina (in its varieties Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay) and 35° South Reserva, are around 14% lighter (weighing 390gr or 420gr, as opposed to conventional ones of 460gr or 490gr).

San Pedro’s goal with this is twofold, firstly to help reduce the amount of glass and emissions, and secondly, to strike a balance between consumer market needs and environmental protection.

The use of cutting edge technology enables a uniform distribution of glass, what resulted in a diminution of raw material needed and the bottles’ weight, but displaying the same aesthetical and practical characteristics, this is, its attractiveness, design and resistance. Visible differences are almost imperceptible.

This change also helps with the worldwide trend among retailers, to reduce the volume of packaging derived waste. Another bonus is that lighter bottles lead to importers increasing the number of cases in containers, which in turn decreases carbon emissions both, in terms of production and transportation.

We are very glad to share this change with you, because it shows that starting from millimeters and grams you can generate a great difference and a great improvement for our world.
We hope you enjoy this news and help communicating them.

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The article appears right after Puyo met the American wine writer during a Winemaker’s tour to New York last week, focusing on Marco’s and San Pedro’s ongoing projects progress, the company’s continued focus in Premium wines and to show JM the new releases of 1865 Single Vineyard and Cabo de Hornos.

About a year ago, Molesworth also wrote a note in his blog after meeting with the winemaker, entitled “A sit down with Chile’s Marco Puyo”, where he expressed positive expectations for his work and new plans in San Pedro.

In his new post, entitled “Marco Puyo: Leading the way in Chile’s Elqui Valley”, Molesworth speaks about the new VSPT Wine Group, Marco’s projects in this Northern Chilean valley and mentions him as one of the Chilean winemakers who caught his attention six years ago, during his first visit to the country, and who has become one of the Wine leaders to the industry.

“This is another project –writes the expert– in a recent trend (…of) wineries that are pushing the viticultural boundaries of Chile, aiming for higher acid, more elegant expressions of wine (…) It’s a trend that’s helped push Chile to greater heights with its wines in recent vintages. It’s a trend I’d like to see continue”, says Molesworth.

It’s the second time Molesworth states San Pedro’s leadership in Elqui. The Wine Spectator’s May 31st edition included his special on Chile, in which he named the 2008 Castillo de Molina Sauvignon Blanc from Elqui among the most interesting examples of Chilean whites, and commented that “Viña San Pedro has the lead in developing vineyards here (the Elqui Valley), notably for Sauvignon Blanc”.

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We are particularly proud to announce that Castillo de Molina Sauvignon Blanc from the Elqui Valley received the Decanter World Wine Awards 2009 Trophy for Best Chilean Sauvignon Blanc under 10 pounds. This is the second consecutive year that it has earned this prestigious trophy, and one of only six wines to have received consecutive trophies since the British competition began in 2004!

Prior to this achievement, the March edition of Wine Spectator, one of the most important wine magazines in the US, published a list of outstanding Chilean wines under the title “Bold Reds, Crisp Whites”, which gave 87 points to the 2006 Castillo de Molina Cabernet Sauvignon from Cachapoal. We were featured again, when the magazine’s May 31st edition included winewriter James Molesworth´s special on Chile, entitled “Chile’s one-two punch,” in which he commented that “as red wines continue to surge, whites show marked improvement.”

With respect to San Pedro wines, this renowned critic named the 2008 Castillo de Molina Sauvignon Blanc from Elqui among the most interesting examples of Chilean whites and included the 2006 Castillo de Molina Cabernet Sauvignon from Cachapoal among the 18 Top Value wines in the edition (with 87 points), wines highlighted by their excellent quality-price ratio.

Furthermore, in an attached piece entitled the “ABC’s of Chilean Wine” Molesworth presents Chile’s most important wine regions, and in discussing the Elqui Valley he says that “Viña San Pedro has taken the lead in developing vineyards here, notably for Sauvignon Blanc.”

On the European front, both the major French Challenge International du Vin 2009, and the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2009, one of the most important wine competitions in the world, have just released their results and coincided completely in their findings. Each competition awarded Gold Medals to both Castillo de Molina Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 and Castillo de Molina Shiraz 2007.

All of these distinctions recognize, reinforce, and communicate Castillo de Molina’s excellent quality in all its varieties.