Torontel Super Estrella 2023 is one of the most characteristic examples of the revival of Chile’s old grape varieties combined with the masterful and rule‑breaking winemaking of Roberto Henríquez. From the hands of a man who is making history with his experiments in Itata, this wine resembles nothing you’ve ever tasted among Chilean whites — it is a category of its own!
Roberto Henríquez began his career with studies in viticulture and oenology, and after a wine journey through South Africa, Canada and France, he returned in 2015 to his birthplace, Bio Bio, to devote himself to reviving local, forgotten varieties and traditional winemaking techniques. With his work approaching the level of a calling, he has earned respect and admiration both within and beyond Chile’s borders, as one of the most important representatives of the country’s new generation of producers.
One of these local varieties is Torontel, a hybrid of Muscat of Alexandria and Pais, grown in the Coelemu zone, just 16 kilometres from the Pacific. So, would you expect anything other than freshness and aromatic intensity? Of course not. Roberto Henríquez’s Torontel Super Estrella 2023 comes from vineyards at least 100 years old, while his approach in the cellar remains gentle and “natural”. Fermentation with ambient yeasts, in contact with the skins for about 12 days, and ageing in traditional large Chilean wooden vats and inox tanks for about 17 months. The wine was bottled without filtration and additives, following the logic of mild, natural winemaking.
We could tell you much more about Torontel Super Estrella 2023 from Roberto Henríquez, but it is one of those wines you truly need to taste in order to understand its complexity, structure and uniqueness.
