Registered wineries on The Squeeze Magazine
TerraNoble winery is quintessentially Chilean with both Carmenère and Maule at the heart of its message, as it has done since its foundation in 1993. While still based in Maule and with Chile’s emblematic Carmenère variety as its flagship, TerraNoble winery has since expanded its portfolio to a wide range of varieties and now makes wines in both Colchagua and Casablanca as well. This modern, premium-focused winery is owned by the Chilean von Appen family and its wines are made under the supervision of winemaker Marcelo García.
About TerraNoble winery
Founded in 1993, the goal of TerraNoble was always to explore the potential of Maule’s terroir for making top quality premium wines – and in particular with Merlot. However a year later, after planting 30 hectares of Merlot, the discovery of Carmenère happened in Chile and TerraNoble soon found out that over half of their vines were in fact Carmenère! Ever since then, TerraNoble has championed this unique Chilean grape – not only making it in their home vineyard in San Clemente, Maule, but also making a terroir series of Carmenère wines in Colchagua Andes and Colchagua Costa.
Today TerraNoble makes premium wines from Maule, Colchagua and Casablanca with a wide range of varieties, which are both classic and lesser-known in Chile. TerraNoble is today a family-owned winery, owned and led by Chilean entrepreneur Wolf von Appen since 2006, and focused on making estate wines from their own vineyards:
“Our philosophy is that making the wines starts in the vineyard itself,” says winemaker Marcelo García. “We look after our noble land working with it carefully, always respecting the people we work with and trying to be loyal to our vineyards and the distinctive character of the varieties we work with. The signature style of TerraNoble is fresh wines which are expressive and enjoyable.”
Today the 150,000-case TerraNoble range includes several monovarietal wines and blends coming from their 300 hectares of estate vineyards, and ranging from orange wine to well-aged Grand Reserve red wines.
About TerraNoble vineyards
MAULE
La Higuera, San Clemente
This vineyard is the original estate that was purchased and planted in 1993, and is home to TerraNoble’s oldest Carmenère vines. The vineyard is all planted on river terraces at the foot of the Andes and the soils are typically rich in clay and granite, and are relatively cool soils which receive around 750 mm of rain a year and are at an average of 200 ma.s.l. The San Clemente vineyard has 90 hectares of vines planted and includes Carmenère, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
CASABLANCA
El Algarrobo, Las Dichas
Located 22 km from the coast, TerraNoble has 64 hectares of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir planted in their Las Dichas vineyard in Casablanca which is mainly composed of sandy soil. There is also a bit of Pinot Blanc, Syrah and Tempranillo planted here, which goes towards their playful Disidente wines. The altitude ranges from 285 to 320 m.a.s.l.
COLCHAGUA
Los Lingues, Colchagua Andes
In the Los Lingues sub-region of Colchagua, at the foothills of the Andes mountains, TerraNoble winery has 28 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Syrah and Petit Verdot vineyards planted on alluvial and colluvial soils mainly composed of clay and granite. The altitude is on average 370 m.a.s.l.
Los Cactus, Colchagua Costa
Near Marchigue in coastal Colchagua, TerraNoble has 118 hectares of vineyards planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Merlot and Marselan. This region has a coastal influence, just over 40 km from the coast and the soils are mainly poor, granitic soils. The vineyard is planted on the coastal hills and ranges from 137 to 200 m.a.s.l.
About TerraNoble wines
TerraNoble winery has several different lines which focus on expressing their different vineyards sites and varieties, all of which are vegan certified wines.
TerraNoble Reserva
The first line is the Reserva range which includes single-varietal wines with a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Casablanca, and from Colchagua a Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenère. Above the Reserva line is a Reserva Especial which includes an oaked Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenère from Colchagua.
TerraNoble Gran Reserva
This is the most important range for TerraNoble and is mainly focused on their vineyards in Maule, expressing their home terroir as such. The range includes Merlot and Carmenère, which were the first two varieties they specialised in, as well as Carignan from Maule. The Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Los Lingues in Colchagua, and a special series of Gran Reserva Las Dichas includes a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from their Casablanca vineyard.
TerraNoble Disidente
This eclectic series is a special line which was developed to explore the wilder side of TerraNoble and its winemaking team, using low intervention winemaking, native yeasts and ageing wines in tinajas and cement eggs. The range includes three wines: an orange wine which is a blend of Pinot Blanc and Pinot Grigio, and a coastal Syrah with a touch of Tempranillo, both from Casablanca, and finally a Carignan-Mourvedre-Garnacha blend from Maule.
TerraNoble CA Project
The CA project is another interesting line within the TerraNoble wine range which explores the different expression of Carmenère comparing the coast to the Andes. Two single-vineyard wines are released from their two different vineyards in Colchagua: one from Los Lingues in the mountains, and the other from Marchigue near the coast. It’s a great way to taste the different expression of Carmenère depending on terroir.
TerraNoble Lahuen
This is the icon wine of TerraNoble winery. Lahuen means ‘medicinal water’ in the native language, and the ethos behind this wine is that it can cleanse the soul with one glass. It is the winemaker’s selection of the best varieties, plots and wine from each vintage, and in recent vintages has been Cabernet Sauvignon dominant from Maipo valley.
About the winemaker, Marcelo García
TerraNoble winemaker Marcelo García was born in Santiago in Chile and grew up with good food and wine at home. “There was always wine on the table at home,” says Marcelo, “and my father always went to special wine shops to look for older vintages. He influenced me to become a winemaker and after studying winemaking I became passionate about the world of wine.”
Marcelo spent several years working at Concha y Toro and within San Pedro, before starting his career at TerraNoble in 2015. He now lives in Curicó with his wife and three children.
“I believe that as you mature and grow as a winemaker the less time you spend in the winery and the more time you spend with the grapevines and in the vineyard,” says Marcelo. “Believing in the potential of the vines, their experience and history is essential. Every plant inspires me to fight to give it the best expression in the bottle. There are no recipes in winemaking – wines are a result of tuning the heart and soul!”
Visiting TerraNoble winery
TerraNoble isn’t open for tourism, but if you book in advance via email you are welcome to visit for a tasting and tour of the vineyard and winery in Maule.
More videos on TerraNoble
Take a look at TerraNoble’s YouTube channel for their latest videos, including this series of discovering what happens in the vineyard on the way to harvest:
In 1996, three sisters Gilda, Edda and Antonieta founded TerraMater winery and bought old vineyards in Isla de Maipo. Today they also produce wines from different vineyards in Curicó and Maule, giving their winemakers some 600 hectares to play with. They produce the classic red varieties but also Zinfandel and Sangiovese.
You can visit the Maipo winery for lunch and a tasting.
Viña Sutil started in Colchagua valley in 1995 and although Colchagua is still at the heart of production (with some 200 hectares), Viña Sutil actually has more vineyards in Limarí (300 hectares) and in Maule (220 hectares). Including their sister brands Viña La Playa and Chono wines, wines are also made from other regions including Itata and Maipo. You can visit Viña La Playa in Colchagua where there is a winery hotel and restaurant.