Villalobos Lobo Carménère

About Villalobos Lobo Carménère

Villalobos Lobo Carménère reveals a hint of herbal undertones and a strong scent of ripe, macerated cherries gently followed
by a trace of green pepper with a chocolate touch.

Sourced from 20-year-old trellised vines of Carménère in Lolol, a microclimate in the Colchagua valley. The grapes are dry-farmed, hand-harvested, spontaneously fermented in stainless steel with native yeasts, and continue aging in stainless-steel tanks through the spring. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, with only minimal s02 at bottling. This produces a much lighter and fresher style of Chilean wine than we’re used to tasting. Only 12.5% alcohol. A total family-run project, including the label art made by the father. Production is around 9,000 bottles annually.

About Familia Villalobos

People like to talk about “sauvage” or “wild” wines, but few are literal examples. Villalobos’ “Silvestre” cuvee is sourced from a forest of fruit, where the Carignan grows in wild bunches 18 feet off the ground. That’s insane. These are ungrafted, bush vines on quartz and clay that are left untouched until harvest. It does not get more natural than that folks.

Villalobos is 100% a family project, and 100% a passion project. All the labels are paintings done by papa, who is a well-respected artist in his own right. The wine is more like an extension of his creative side than a traditional business. His sons handle the biz part.

In addition to the wild wines, they source organic fruit from two farmers. All the negoce wines are 100% stainless, native yeast, unfined, unfiltered expressions of Pacific terroirs. These are much lighter, fresher examples of Chilean viticulture than we are used to tasting, but ones that still express a clear sense of place. That’s a nice balance.

These wines show us there is always something new to discover and bring a totally fresh perspective to a genre with a somewhat tired and cheapened reputation. And a fresh perspective is exactly what the doctor orders!