Maquis Viola 2010
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Robert
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James
Suckling
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
A long dry season plus cooler maximum temperatures in summer contributed to a slower maturation process of the grapes. This resulted in a wine with interesting spice aromas, soft tannins, and elegance.
Blend: 85% Carménère and 15% Cabernet Franc.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The French négociants are selling the 2015 and the 2010 Viola, because they have kept some bottles from past vintages because they believe the wines age nicely in bottle. I had already tasted the wine in 2014 and this was only the second vintage, cropped from a cool year and with the Carmenere complemented with 15% Cabernet Franc. I was surprised at how young, harmonious and fresh the wine is. It's soft and polished, elegantly varietal, spicy and peppery with notes reminiscent of the Chilean spice mix merkén, but all in a very subtle way. The oak has integrated completely, and the wine is serious and balanced, with 13.5% alcohol. It's incredibly young, with balance to continue living in bottle. Best after 2014.
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Wine Enthusiast
This Carmenère-led blend opens with composed aromas of cherry, cassis and chocolate along with herbs and spice. The palate feels crisp and intense, with firm tannins and elegance. Roasted black-fruit flavors are peppery and chocolaty, while licorice and baking spice flavors grace a long finish. Contains 15% Cabernet Franc. Drink through 2022.
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James Suckling
This is holding pretty well with just hints of tree bark, ink and tobacco leaf to the savory black fruit. The medium-bodied palate shows fleshy fruit and natural, fresh acidity. Pretty supple tannins and fruit. Balance is the key. Drink now, but can keep holding for three to four years.
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The Hurtado family has owned the Viña Maquis vineyard for more than a century, but it wasn’t until almost 20 years ago that the family decided to make their own wine out of the terrific grapes in their own backyard. They built a state-of-the-art gravity flow winery and set out to make the Maquis winery one of the great properties in all of South America.
Located in Colchagua Valley, the winery’s focus is on distinctive single-vineyard, estate wines, as well as producing “balanced” wines that are not over-ripe (resulting in excessively high alcohol) but also not exhibiting any of the “green” character that sometimes plagues wines picked from grapes that have not fully matured. The Maquis main vineyard is essentially an island: it is deeply influenced by the Tinguiririca River on one side and the Chimbarongo Creek on the other. These two large waterways once brought alluvial sediment from the Andes and today act as pathways for cool coastal breezes that help moderate the warm Colchagua summers, contributing to the intensity, character, fruitiness and mineral elements of the Maquis wines. Maquis is fortunate to have such a privileged location.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
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.