We are all super excited to have these wines in the portfolio, which not only represent something new for Chilean natural wine, but natural wine period. 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!