Winemaker Notes
On the nose, this wine is complex and exhibits rich and ripe aromas of bramble, raspberry and black cherry along with notes of bay leaf, cedar and bittersweet chocolate. On the palate, its juicy and spicy, its supple texture supports ripe flavors of red fruit and pastry notes. this wine’s fine-grained tannins provide a framework for the luscious fruit intensity in the finish and excellent persitence.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A wonderfully elegant, silky, Cabernet Sauvignon-based cuvée with floral, fine-boned flavors of graphite, red plum and blackcurrant, bright acidity.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I got to taste two vintages of most of the wines this time, like the 2014 Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve and the following vintage. The blend in 2014 was high in Cabernet Sauvignon at 68%, plus 18% Carménère, 9% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot from volcanic colluvial soils in Aconcagua. It fermented in small stainless steel vats and matured in French oak barrels (70% new) for 20 months. There is a big change in this wine with this vintage (it really started in 2013 and peaked in 2015) towards more freshness and less oak. It keeps its classical profile but with a lot more freshness. The palate is medium-bodied, with the telltale tannins of the variety and very tasty almost salty finish.
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.
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.