I was impressed by this wine at a Majestic press tasting in Autumn 2024. I bought a bottle not long after but it’s taken me some time to get round to opening it.
It’s from the Elqui Valley in Chile, where Mayu has been producing wine since 2005. The Mayu name comes from an ancient Inca word for the Milky Way. This particular bottle is from the 2022 vintage and sits at 14% ABV. Half of the wine spends ten months in French oak, which shows in the final character of the wine.
On the Majestic site, opinions are a bit mixed, so I was curious to revisit it also without having immediately previously sampled about a hundred other wines as I had at the press tasting.
The colour is light, with a slightly brown tinge, which could easily mislead you about what to expect. But it’s richer and more developed than the appearance suggests. There’s a strong leather and earthy scent that leads into a balanced mix of wood, fruit and umami flavours in the mouth. This time around, I picked up more pronounced savoury qualities which I really enjoyed, whether that’s because it’s had time to evolve or because my senses weren’t overwhelmed by a tasting room lineup, it’s hard to say. There’s also a faint touch of caramel towards the finish and a very slight grip of tannin, which gives it just enough structure.
If, like me, you enjoy a savoury Pinot Noir but would like a bit of oak influence, this one delivers. However, for people who haven’t tried or aren’t familiar with savoury Pinot Noir, that might be the reason for the mixed reviews. It was £12.99 when I first tried it and is now £13.00, which is excellent value given the intervening duty changes.
