Vina Errazuriz - Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve 2016

Tim Atkin

Wine Spectator

Patricio Tapia - Descorchados

At first glance, we could say that all the freshness and radiance of this Don Maximiano has to do with the vintage, a cold year that, at the best cases, has produces very red, very juicy wines full of vibrant acidity. But it could also be due to the work that winemaker Francisco Baettig has been doing with this wine since he took charge of it in 2004. It’s slow work to restore this wine’s former style (the label has been around since the 1930s)—much more focused on fruit and freshness, with earlier harvests and limited use of new oak barrels. In fact, this is the first time Baettig has made a Don Maximiano with just 13.5° alcohol. And that shows. It’s a delicious red wine with herbal tones and pure, sharp acidity, a wine that’s ushering in a new era in the history of this classic Chilean label.

Wine Enthusiast

Mint and spice aromas combine with earthy plum to give this a classic Chile-meets-Bordeaux outlook. On the palate, this is more narrow and sharp than you might expect, probably a reflection of 2016's cool, rainy conditions. Lean, piquant raspberry and currant flavors finish very fresh and with little weight. Michael

Decanter Magazine

Opulence this is with an array of notes; black fruit, cassis and a lovely herbal complexity. What’s special is the freshness, beautifully balanced with its acidity and concentration of fruit. A big wine with elegance.

James Suckling

Fjord black fruits on the nose. This wine also has the signature freshness of modern Chilean reds. I love the crispness at the very long finish. There's plenty of tannic power, too, but the wine remains delicate. Silky texture.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2016 Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve is a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, with smaller amounts of Malbec, Carmenère and Cabernet Franc from their estate vineyards in Panquehue. It fermented in stainless steel vats and matured in French oak barrels (65% new) for 22 months. It's an ultra classical Aconcagua Cabernet-based blend with good ripeness while keeping the freshness, and it has generous oak that does not overwhelm but makes the wine softer and spicier. It has some fine-grained, slightly dusty tannins. The very classical label is very coherent with an updated classical blend. 78,000 bottles produced. It was bottled between February and April 2018 in three homogeneous lots.

The quality of the wines from Errázuriz is very high, and they are extremely reliable—which is especially remarkable because they produce some six million bottles per year. 2017 seems to have produced even fresher whites, while 2016 seems to perfectly fit the style of freshness and elegance they took some years ago. They produce some of the best wines from Chile and surely one world-class white—the Chardonnay Las Pizarras, a true icon and sought-after wine that has been made in only four vintages. Bravo!