Chemical Profile and Phenolic Composition of Commercial Chilean Pinot Noir Wines from Clonal and Mass-Selection

In Chile, Pinot Noir is currently cultivated on 3937 hectares, representing 7.3% of the national vineyard area dedicated to wine production. Two distinct groups of Pinot Noir plant material coexist in commercial vineyards, as officially documented by the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture: historical mass selections introduced during the 19th century (e.g., Valdivieso: Val and Concha y Toro: C&T) and certified French clonal selections (notably 115 and 777) introduced in the 1990s. Given the relevance of phenolic compounds to wine quality—particularly their role in color stability and mouthfeel—wines produced from these selections were analyzed for spectrophotometric traits and individual phenolics using high-performance liquid chromatography. Results revealed variation in parameters associated with total phenolic content and wine composition. However, no consistent differentiation between clonal and massal-derived wines was observed. Overall, the findings suggest that, under commercial winemaking conditions, the genetic origin of the planting material exerts only a limited influence on the chemical composition of Chilean Pinot Noir wines.