Cono Sur Bicicleta Pinot Noir Red Wine, Chile, Light & Juicy ,(Case of 6 x 75cl)

Product Information

The Bicicleta wine was born in 2012 as a tribute to the estate workers, who travel daily through the vineyards in their bikes, as part of the eco-friendly and sustainability policies implemented by Cono Sur since its foundation in 1993.

However, he admitted that the early days of Pinot making weren’t producing wonderful results, commenting that the first examples tasted more like Merlot than the Burgundian red grape – “the tannins were dry and the fruit was overripe,” he recalled. Indeed, for Cono Sur’s pricier expressions, such as 20 Barrels and Ocio, everything is done by hand in the winery, with foot-crushing for the grapes, and manual punching down of the must in open top fermentors.In addition, it is worth noting that Bicicleta was positioned as the best-selling Pinot Noir in the UK. Next came changes to the irrigation regime, with the Pinot vines, unlike other red grapes, given water up until harvesting, as opposed to switching off the supply earlier in the growing season, as one might for varieties such as Cabernet to bring more concentration.

As for the nature of Pinot Noir that Chile produces, in general terms Ríos describes the country’s style as one with intensity, but softness. Now, what is the secret to the success of this wine? The way to cultivate the vines is part of it: the vines that give life to this Pinot Noir – besides being sustainable – enjoy abundant sunlight, hot days, cold nights and irrigation water from the snowmelt. Due west of the country’s capital, Santiago, are the Casablanca and San Antonio Valleys. The former runs east-west and therefore sees cool, foggy conditions many mornings. The latter runs north-south but is close enough to the ocean to benefit from cool breezes. Very promising Chilean Pinot Noirs can be found from both DO’s. That winery is Cono Sur, a Chilean operation owned by the country’s largest wine business, Concha y Toro, and a brand that has made Pinot Noir its specialism, producing this grape at a range of quality levels, from the best-value examples on the market today to Chile’s first super-premium offering, an ‘icon’ Pinot called Ocio.

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Now part of Cono Sur’s Santa Elisa Estate, the Chimbarongo plot of old vines became the inspiration for the winery’s focus on the grape, and its launch in 1999 of ‘the Pinot project’, as it became known. Starting in 2001, Prieur was the first wine consultant to work in Chile, according to Ríos, and is still supporting Cono Sur today.

In the Coquimbo region, both the Elqui and Limarí Valleys enjoy lots of sunlight throughout the year, which promotes consistent ripening. Of equal importance, their proximity to the Pacific Ocean and the Humboldt Current that flows just offshore provides the necessary cooling influence that yields good balancing acidity. En cuanto a maridaje, Bicicleta Pinot Noir es una excelente opción para sabores delicados, como carnes blancas, hongos, pescados y quesos suaves. De igual forma, no lo recomendamos para acompañar platos picantes. Además, vale la pena añadir que se trata de un vino para consumo inmediato, el cual debe disfrutarse -preferentemente- a una temperatura de 14°C. En su sabor destacan las frutas dulces y taninos finos que le dan gran textura. El equilibrio entre estos últimos, la acidez, el alcohol y el azúcar dan como resultado una estructura perfecta. Sin duda, un tinto fresco y carismático, ideal para paladares conocedores de un buen vino. Ríos had arrived at Cono Sur in 2003, and this was just after the winery had decided to appoint Burgundy winemaker Martín Prieur from Domaine Jacques Prieur, to help the Chilean operator perfect its Pinots. And by that I mean it has the delicacy of Pinot-based reds, along with their juicy red berry fruit, when inexpensive Pinots rarely have both – sometimes they have the fleshy fruit, but not the life-giving brightness, and other times, they are gentle, but without the juicy fruit, leaving one with a thin-tasting wine.

VALLEYS & Winery

It’s often said that it’s impossible to make inexpensive Pinot Noir that features the grape’s appealing combination of lightness and ripeness – but one producer has managed to do exactly this. The starting point for Cono Sur’s Pinot journey was a plot of Pinot Noir in a place called Chimbarongo, which is within Chile’s Colchagua Valley – a wine region best known for the quality of its Carmenere-based reds. Continuing, he states, referring to the extended dry, warm conditions in Cono Sur’s Pinot plantations, “We have the natural conditions to be able to do this, we can choose exactly the moment of harvest.” Are you wondering how to pair this wine? Well, Bicicleta Pinot Noir is an excellent choice for delicate flavors, such as white meats, mushrooms, fish and soft cheeses. We do not recommend it to accompany spicy dishes. In addition, it is worth adding that it is a wine for immediate consumption, which should be enjoyed -preferably- at a temperature of 14 ° C. Planted in 1968, this is the oldest planting of Pinot Noir in Chile, and the grape was chosen for this area because, at the time, this was the coolest place for new plantings in the country, according to Ríos – reminding db that chillier coastal areas such as Casablanca, and later San Antonio and then Limarí represent relatively recent viticultural developments.