Winemaker Notes
Casas del Bosque winery and vineyards are located in the Casablanca Valley. At just over 900 ft above sea level, and about 12 miles inland from the Pacific, the climate is ideal for producing cool climate wines; the estate vineyards are planted to Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and Pinot Noir. The Carménère and Cabernet Sauvignon red wines come from the Rapel and Maipo valleys where they contract specific vineyards sites for their wines.
About the Winemaker - Meinard Jan Bloem
Meinard was born and grew up in The Netherlands. He arrived in Chile in 1995, and very quickly decided to make it his new home. He now regards himself as more Chilean than Dutch. He decided to become a winemaker and went to study at the Universidad Católica in Chile, where he graduated as best student in the history of his Faculty. After completing his study in Santiago he went to Montpellier and Geisenheim (Germany) to obtain a Master’s Degree in Viticulture and Enology. He also had the chance to work with such renowned people in the world of Pinot Noir as Greg La Follette, Stefan Dorst (Weingut Friedrich Becker) or Sylvain Pitiot at the famous Domaine du Clos de Tart in Burgundy. In Germany he trained at Weingut Dr. Bürklin-Wolf, producing some of the worlds best dry Rieslings.
Having worked several years at a small vineyard and winery, running everything from viticulture to sales, in 2016 he was ready for a bigger challenge. Having been called by Tim Atkin MW one of “the younger generation of winemakers [that] is taking the country to new levels,” and since the only two Sauvignon Blancs he had ever made are still amongst the 10 best from Chile according to Wine Spectator, the decision to hire him at Casas del Bosque was an easy one. He’s one of the few winemakers in Chile who feel more confident in the vineyard than in the cellar, is fluent in six languages and in his free time enjoys riding -and occasionally crashes- a motorcycle.
Touching the Pacific in the west and stretching up into the Andes on its eastern side, the Rapel Valley is one of the more substantial fine red wine producing regions of Chile and contains both the Colchagua Valley in its south and west and the Cachapoal in its north and east. While it is recognized for its exceptional warm-climate reds, the region does produce some fine Pinot noir and Sauvignon blanc on its coastal side.
Some of the country’s finest Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the Rapel’s Andean foothills—with significant individualized smaller zones already identified. Soils here are mixtures of loam, clay, and sand; Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, and Merlot are the most prolific varieties throughout the region.
Dark, full-bodied and herbaceous with a spicy kick, Carménère found great success with its move to Chile in the mid-19th century. However, the variety went a bit undercover until 1994 when many plantings previously thought to be Merlot, were profiled as Carménère. Somm Secret— Carménère is both a progeny and a great-grandchild of the similarly flavored Cabernet Franc.