Senior Editor Zekun Shuai chats with Marcelo Papa, the winemaker and technical director of Chilean winery Concha y Toro, about the 2020 and 2021 vintages.
"We know 2020 was a difficult vintage for you guys. It was really hot and I think pinot noir and chardonnay suffered quite a lot," Zekun says. "The quality of pinot is really not that consistent."
"It's true that 2020 was a warmer year," Marcelo responds. "But if you see the numbers in terms of temperatures, the 2020 was ... a cool year for Limari [where Concha y Toro grows pinot noir and chardonnay] if you take the average number in the last 20 or 30 years. Why? Because we are under the effect of La Niña, which means that the temperature of the water on the surface of the Pacific Ocean is cooler," he says. "So if you see the numbers in terms of temperatures ... the only year that we could consider a warm year is 2017.
Marcelo also talks about the effect that rain and humidity had on 2021's cabernet sauvignons.
Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Valle de Maipo Gravas del Maipo 2020
Concha y Toro Chardonnay Valle de Limarí Marques de Casa Concha 2020
Concha y Toro Chardonnay Valle de Limarí Quebrada Seca Vineyard Amelia 2020