MELI Carignan 2011
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This distinctive blend, 90% Carignan and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, is a deep ruby in the glass and spicy on the nose with hints of coffee, black fruit and chocolate with pleasant earth notes. An unctuous mouthfeel, it is medium bodied with soft tannins and a long, complex finish.
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2015-
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Meli is the dream of celebrated winemaker Adriana Cerda. Adriana had already been a respected winemaker for 30 years when she decided it was time to make her own wine.
In 2005, she and her three adult sons bought a property with 60-year-old Carignane and Riesling vines in the Maule Valley. Using dry farming, Meli produces two unique wines — both unusual for Chile. These varieties, Riesling and Carignane, are well-suited to the cooler Maule Valley, where the growing season is long, with cool nights and warm days.
Eduardo is responsible for the general management of Meli wines and he is a member of a guild of Chilean winemakers called MOVI (Movement of Independent Vintners). And as a founding member of the Carignan Club, a group dedicated to protecting the quality of Carignan wines, as well as consultant for a number of small wineries, he has partnered with Ana Maria Barahona, one of Chile’s leading journalists, to develop a women’s wine guide called Guía Mujer y Vino (Women and Wine Guide).
Responsible for some of the most stunning old vine red wine on the planet, Carignan has an amazing capacity to survive dry, arid climates and still produce lovely, mouthwatering wine. In Spain it goes by the name of Mazuelo or Cariñena and while it may have originated there in the province of Aragón, its popularity lies elsewhere, particularly in Languedoc-Roussillon. Somm Secret—Historically Carignan did not enjoy the respect that it does today. In the mid 20th century, Carignan covered nearly 140,000 ha in Algeria, where it was made into low quality bulk and blending wine to supply mass-market demand.
The Maipo Valley is Chile’s most famous wine region. Set in the country’s Central Valley, it is warm and quite dry, often necessitating the use of irrigation. Alluvial soils predominate but are supplemented with loam and clay.
The climate in Maipo is best-suited for ripe, full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon (the region’s most widely planted grape), Merlot, Syrah and Carmenère, a Bordeaux variety that has found a successful home in Chile.
White wines are also produced with great prosperity, especially near the cooler coast, include Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.