Diverse impact of topography and cultivation location on the polyphenolic profiles and certain sensory attributes of ‘País’ heritage wines from the Maule dryland region (Chile)

[Display omitted] •Chemical, sensory and soil and climatic analyses were carried out on heritage wines of the País variety.•Chemical and sensory analyses were carried out in a rain-fed wine-growing area.•Consumers sensorial differentiated wines from different locations.•Chemical analyses were not related to the sensory perception of consumers.•Sensory characteristics of the wines were related to the soil science and climate of the localities. Polyphenols are compounds that have traditionally been related to sensory properties of wines. The synthesis of these secondary metabolites can be influenced by numerous factors, including the edaphoclimatic conditions of the growing area of vines. In this study, the effect of topography and cultivation location on the chemical composition and sensory perception of wines was determined. Different vineyards cultivating the ‘País’ grape variety were selected. This variety is of great historical heritage relevance in collections of different wine-producing countries. Three vine growing areas from each of three localities of a dryland region of Chile displaying either “Hilly” (slope 18–20 %) or “Valley” (slope less than 9 %) topographies were selected. Resulting wines were analyzed chemically (spectrophotometry and HPLC-DAD) and sensorially (acceptability and CATA). A close relationship between edaphoclimatic conditions of the vine growing area and certain sensory properties of wines (color, mouthfeel but not aroma) was evidenced. By contrast, association between edaphoclimatic conditions of vine cultivation and the phenolic profile of the wine products was unclear. Furthermore, phenolic differences between the wines produced from vines grown at different topographical conditions were not significant.