Vina Errazuriz - Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve 2018

Tim Atkin

James Suckling

The violets, roses, blueberries and blackcurrants flow from the glass. Full-bodied, tight and very focused with ultra-fine tannins that flow over the edges of the wine. Extremely long and polished. Needs time to open. Better after 2022.

Patricio Tapia - Descorchados

Winemaker Francisco Baettig took charge of this wine in 2004, but it wasn’t until 2015 that a new style (consistent with Baettig's new way of thinking about his wines) began to appear. It was slow work to recover the old style of this wine (a brand that has existed since 1930) that's now much more focused on fruit and freshness by cutting back on the use of new barrels and harvesting earlier. And in a perfect year such as 2018, that work has crystallized in this new Don Max that's based on 70% cabernet sauvignon from Errázuriz's property in Aconcagua, planted in 1978. And that cabernet rich in balsamic notes is transformed here into mints and herbs along with fresh and juicy red fruits. Its very low alcohol content (13.5º) gives it a certain lightness and a sensation of medium body. But don't be fooled—this is a wine for the cellar. It has enough acidity and tannins to evolve elegantly for a decade.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The red 2018 Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Malbec, 7% Carmenere, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc that fermented in stainless steel, open vats and eggs and matured in French oak barrels, 65% of them new, for 22 months. The oak is perfectly integrated, and the wine has a fresh profile with 13.5% alcohol and a creamy texture with refined tannins and a long, dry and vibrant finish. This is a serious wine, somewhat a little shy, pure, balanced ad subtle, very complete and with integrated oak. It's juicy but also fine and probably the best of the modern vintages so far. 64,193 bottles produced. It is bottled in three lots from a single master blend.

Errázuriz celebrated its 150th anniversary, as the winery was created in 1870. They are one of the quality leaders of Chile despite producing 4.8 million bottles per year. 2020 and 2017 were super warm, and 2019 was moderately warm and somewhat flying under the radar after the stellar 2018. I was very pleasantly surprised by the 2019s, in some cases better than the 2018s and also the Max line that showed superb.