Winemaker Notes
Legado is a range of wines of great intensity and complexity from exceptional vineyards. This Carmenere from Maipo has a spicy aroma and good structure and reveals the potential of this variety.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2022 Carménère Reserva Legado from Isla de Maipo was aged in oak casks (30%) and very old barrels (70%) for 7 months. Purple in hue. The nose delivers subtle notes of ash, with ripe black and blueberry aromas, spice, and hints of haystack. Indulgent and expansive with finely grained tannins, it fills the mouth with bold flavor enhanced by a layer of herbs. More Bordelaise than ever.
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James Suckling
A plush and creamy carmenere with black cherries, raspberries, chocolate orange, black beans and vanilla on the nose. Full-bodied, deeply colored and fruit-forward with a lovely softness. Why wait?
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Legado Carmenere was produced with grapes from Maipo that fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in old barrels (70%) and 5,000-liter foudres for seven months. It has similar parameters as the 2021 I tasted next to it, moderate 13.5% alcohol and good freshness, but it feels a little creamier and rounder, fruit-driven and straightforward.
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.
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.