Kingston Family Vineyards Lucero Syrah 2007
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Definitely decant the 07 Lucero to let it breathe a bit—it is a surprisingly serious wine, deeply colored and very concentrated. It has the same hallmark meat and smoke characters on top of black fruits with a firm backbone of acidity that all the Syrahs from the Kingston vineyard display, just more of it than usual.
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Rich, but light on its feet, with racy violet, blackberry, raspberry and sweet spice notes that race through the mineral-tinged finish. Offers fine length and grace.
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The Kingstons settled in Casablanca in the 1920's. One of Gramps's dreams of finding the "Gramps" Kingston motherlode yielded a 7,500 acre ranch with a herd of cattle, but no gold. Rumor has it that there is some gold deep down under "the Farm", but it is apparently so far down that maybe our great-great-grandchildren will hit pay-dirt.
Through the years, generations of Kingstons have been raised in the "casa patronal" on the Farm in Casablanca. Our wine's label is inspired by this old house still standing today.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Dramatic geographic and climatic changes from west to east make Chile an exciting frontier for wines of all styles. Chile’s entire western border is Pacific coastline, its center is composed of warm valleys and on its eastern border, are the soaring Andes Mountains.
Chile’s central valleys, sheltered by the costal ranges, and in some parts climbing the eastern slopes of the Andes, remain relatively warm and dry. The conditions are ideal for producing concentrated, full-bodied, aromatic reds rich in black and red fruits. The eponymous Aconcagua Valley—hot and dry—is home to intense red wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot.
The Maipo, Rapel, Curicó and Maule Valleys specialize in Cabernet and Bordeaux Blends as well as Carmenère, Chile’s unofficial signature grape.
Chilly breezes from the Antarctic Humboldt Current allow the coastal regions of Casablanca Valley and San Antonio Valley to focus on the cool climate loving varieties, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Chile’s Coquimbo region in the far north, containing the Elqui and Limari Valleys, historically focused solely on Pisco production. But here the minimal rainfall, intense sunlight and chilly ocean breezes allow success with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The up-and-coming southern regions of Bio Bio and Itata in the south make excellent Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Spanish settlers, Juan Jufre and Diego Garcia de Cáceres, most likely brought Vitis vinifera (Europe’s wine producing vine species) to the Central Valley of Chile sometime in the 1550s. One fun fact about Chile is that its natural geographical borders have allowed it to avoid phylloxera and as a result, vines are often planted on their own rootstock rather than grafted.