300 Year-Old Vines? Tasting with Sebastian De Martino
Tom King, Fine Wine Manager on 14 Apr 2025
When Pietro De Martino arrived at Isla de Maipo in 1934, he recognised the exciting potential for wine production of this cooler part of the Maipo Valley, with its deep, free-draining gravel soils. Now in its fourth generation, this Italian–Chilean dynasty is run by brothers (and best friends), Sebastian and Marco Antonio.
In 1996, the family went down in history for bottling and labelling the first ever Chilean Carmenere, setting it on course to become Chile’s signature variety. ‘Alto de Piedras’ remains the standard by which all Carmenere is judged. This brought recognition, but De Martino is responsible for a thrillingly diverse collection, not only from the Maipo estate, but also from far-flung vineyards to the north and south of Chile’s vine-growing regions. Intriguingly, these include wine from some of the world’s oldest grapevines, which may be up to 300 years of age.
Tasting with Sebastian recently, I was impressed with every single wine. Picking a favourite is impossible, but the climax had to be the privilege of a sip or two of the phenomenal 2020 vintage Cuvée. This strictly limited release from 1.6 hectares of the historic Santa Inés vineyard at Isla de Maipo is the culmination of decades of perfecting the family's craft.
WHITE WINES
Legado Chardonnay 2023, Limarí Valley
This intense Chardonnay has an enlivening, eye-popping brightness, and appetising essences of tangy peach and lemon zest greet the nose, closely followed by richer notes of cream, honey and toast. Deliciously vibrant, it has piquant, mouthwatering acidity in electrifying tension with the generous, ripe fruit. Its character reflects the Limarí Valley’s intense sunlight, limestone soils and climate cooled by proximity to the frigid Pacific. Lean in texture yet with superb length, this is a thrilling wine. It tastes as though it could age, and Sebastian confirms that he is currently enjoying the 2012 vintage at home.
Gallardia Old Vine White 2020, Itata
The immediate impression is of lemon meringue pie straight from the oven, with the zesty freshness and pillowy lightness of meringue, richness of lemon curd custard and pie-crust toastiness. This is just the first impression, however—the wine soon unfurls to complex notes of frankincense, seasoned pine wood and beeswax. Reminiscent of a well-aged dry Riesling, it is in fact made from a field-blend of Moscatel and Chasselas, dry-farmed on very old gobelet vines planted in 1905, in the cool, southerly Itata region. This appealing, complex white has rustic roots, which give rise to surprising sophistication.
RED WINES
Gallardia Cinsault 2020, Itata
De Martino’s Italian heritage is on display in this consummately gustatory red. Baked red fruit—strawberries and cherries—jostle with moist earth, sun-warmed bricks and air-dried salami. It’s begging to be drunk with an al fresco lunch, even before you take a sip. Medium-bodied, succulent and soft, this sits somewhere between Côtes du Rhône and Sangiovese, with its modest alcohol, fresh acidity and gentle tannin melding into a harmonious whole. 100% Cinsault from dry-farmed, ungrafted gobelet-trained vines, grown on granite soils 22km from the Pacific Ocean. Sebastian tells us that the green, hilly, well-watered Itata looks a lot like Beaujolais, and the wine does have certain similarities, with an Italian slant.
Attractively fascinating, leafy, peppery aromas greet the nose, before you step down into to the cellar, where a deep trove of earth, tar and yeast extract awaits. The palate impression is almost entirely textural: surpassingly soft and harmonious, it has supremely silky tannins, and acidity which is at once fresh and understated. Complete, satisfying and with surpassing elegance, this is as beautifully-balanced as it is intriguing. ‘Las Olvidadas’, or ‘The Forgotten’ refers to the 2,507 venerable vines, aged between 100 and 300 years, whose meagre yields make this wine. It is a field blend of around 80% País and 20% San Francisco—DNA testing has shown the latter variety to be a crossing of País and Moscatel.
Las Cruces 2018, Cachapoal Valley
With an impressively deep, vibrant ruby colour, Las Cruces has intense aromas of ripe blackcurrant, whipped cream and hints of woodsmoke. There’s a subtle scent of crushed leaves, a seasoning without excess, which enhances freshness and complexity. On the palate, juicy acidity merges harmoniously with satisfyingly chewy tannins. This is great – comparable to top Cahors in both style and quality. It’s ready now, although decanting is recommended to bring out the best, and it will drink well for at least another 5-10 years. From a 2.8 hectare vineyard on weathered granite and sand soil at Pichidegua, Cachapoal, planted in 1957 to 75% Malbec and 25% Carmenere.
Alto de Piedras Carmenere 2021, Maipo Valley
This demonstrates how delicious Carmenere can be when it’s grown in the right place, carefully-tended and picked fully ripe. It’s a dusky-deep colour and full of juicy, ripe-yet-fresh blackcurrant character, with a smoky seasoning. Euphonious, super-supple and abounding in richness, this beautifully-proportioned wine is the finest pure Carmenere that I have tasted. From a single site, with gravel-rich soils on old terraces of the Maipo river, close to De Martino’s home at Isla de Maipo, Alto de Piedras shows the grand potential of the variety, combining the succulence of Merlot with the body of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Legado Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, Maipo Valley
Textbook Cabernet Sauvignon, this is brim-full of juicy black fruit with notes of black pepper, sizzling beef, toasted oak and a subtle, smoked character. It’s delightfully open and mellifluous on the palate, with fluidity, freshness and flow, dulcet texture and effortless length. Highly appetising, and outstanding value, this comes from vineyards near De Martino’s home at Isla de Maipo.
Cuvée 2020, Santa Inés Vineyard – Isla de Maipo
One sniff, and you’re hooked. Drawn in by beguiling hints of the spice cabinet, a woodland walk, sesame oil with soy sauce and sun-dried seaweed at the tide line, there’s no way back. You take a sip, and are struck by how downright deliciously drinkable it is—all subtlety, mellowness, harmony and balance, with understated concentration and exquisite integration of everything. Crafting wine of this calibre that has the wherewithal to cellar for decades, and yet is 100% ready to enjoy young is a remarkable achievement. The culmination of 85 years of experimentation, Cuvée is composed of the finest fruit from the Viñedo Santa Inés, owned by the family since 1934. It is an old, massal selection of Cabernet Sauvignon, complemented by a small proportion of Malbec and Petit Verdot. It is the epitome of the De Martino style. As Sebastian says, “We don’t think you need to show your best with power. Finesse and gentleness, instead.”