2019 Tabali Transversal Mezcla de Tintos Valle de Limari

Chile is known for extreme vineyards, but Tabalí’s are some of the country’s absolute wildest. You should see these vertigo-inducing sites. They tend to be steep, rugged, and flanked by cacti, and at first glance, you might wonder what possessed Tabalí to plant here.

But when you taste the 2019 Transversal red, no question will remain. 

The Mezcla comes from four separate sites, one in Maipo and three in the Limari Valley, which is located just west of the Atacama Desert, the driest nonpolar place on Earth. The Limarí Valley is seven miles from the ocean, and the pristine, untamed terrain that surrounds Tabalí’s fog-draped vineyards have been named part of the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. 

When Tabalí started, there were no vineyards on these sites, just pastures and scrubland. But they found promising terroirs, and today, those sites are paying off in beautiful wines. For the ‘19 Transversal, winemaker Felipe Müller East—a wunderkind with no shortage of accolades—had his team harvest each individual variety at the peak of ripeness. After two manual selections and destemming, the grapes are vinified in small lots to maximize options for blending. The wine was then aged in French oak barrels for 20 months. 

This is the wine you’ll want by the fire at the end of a gray winter day and DEFINITELY close at hand when the weather warms up and the grill starts sizzling. Alongside ribs dripping with sweet bbq sauce or tri-tip sandwiches on sourdough with a side of sauteed mushrooms, you can’t do better. 

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 14.00%
• 1 hour
• Now – 2030
• 30% Cabernet Franc30% Malbec25% Syrah15% Cabernet Sauvignon
• Serving temperature – 58°
• Cork