Tasting Piscos

In the category of pure Quebranta, the highest-rated one for me was from the Santa María Magdalena winery in Pisco, Ica. It's an unmistakable and top-quality Ica Quebranta. It was followed in score by the Pisco Madre of Ica, Valle Sagrado de Ica, and Victoria de Los Sánchez from Lunahuaná, Cañete, Lima. Let me make an observation. We all know that Ica concentrates the majority of pisco production and Quebranta grapes. It's also true that Ica Quebranta pisco has its own characteristics. Most tasters are familiar with it, and it's very difficult for a Quebranta sample from another region to achieve high scores due to its uniqueness. In the case of Victoria de Los Sánchez pisco, it's clean and correct, but I detected slight citrus and floral notes that are not typical of Ica Quebranta. That's why my score was lower. We don't know how Quebrantas from other regions may present themselves, as climate, terroir, geography, and so on can change. That's why producers need to find their own descriptors for their grapes and piscos in each region and collaborate with tasters to work on this. An Ica Quebranta will never be the same as one from Lima or Tacna. The same goes for Italia, Moscatel, or Albilla. There's work to be done in that regard.