Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesWhat a lovely nose of dried lavender, violets, vanilla, spices, licorice, tar and some sweet blueberry fruit. Full body but ever so grainy with bright acidity, firm yet very structured tannins and a vibrant, mineral-driven finish. Drink in 2021.
I tasted two vintages of the top bottling here, including the cooler 2014 Futa Cabernet Sauvignon, which contains some 14% Cabernet Franc grapes. The cooler spring reduced yields and a dry and warm-ish summer concentrated the juice, so the wines have power and freshness, with expressive aromas and good structure. It matured in French barriques for two years before it was bottled. I found an earthy and licorice-like character here that detracted from its elegance. I liked the palate better than the nose, but I still favor the 2015.
Well-regarded for intense and exceptionally high quality red wines, the Colchagua Valley is situated in the southern part of Chile’s Rapel Valley, with many of the best vineyards lying in the foothills of the Coastal Range.
Heavy French investment and cutting-edge technology in both the vineyard and the winery has been a boon to the local viticultural industry, which already laid claim to ancient vines and a textbook Mediterranean climate.
The warm, dry growing season in the Colchagua Valley favors robust reds made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Malbec and Syrah—in fact, some of Chile’s very best are made here. A small amount of good white wine is produced from Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.