2019 · Macho Anciano

Rogue Vine is an independent, founder-run natural wine project in Chile’s Itata Valley, started in 2011 by Justin Decker and Leonardo Erazo Lynch in a garage in Concepción. Working with smallholder growers rather than estate vineyards, they source fruit from old dry-farmed bush vines on steep granitic hills, with parcels said to range from 60 to over 300 years old. Farming follows organic-style, no-irrigation methods with hand work, horse plowing, compost and biological treatments. In the cellar, the approach is low-intervention: native yeasts, no corrections, minimal sulfur, and élevage in old oak, cement vessels and concrete globes, with some wines bottled unfined and unfiltered. The wines aim for freshness, natural acidity and moderate alcohol.