Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A wonderful Mediterranean expression from Koyle showing sour cherries, wild herbs and white pepper. Pretty fleshy but super fresh. Medium to full body with really firm and chalky tannins. Quite mineral and ethereal in the finish. Nicely austere, gastronomic and elegant. Around 70-75% of grenache and mourvedre, with some carignan and syrah. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The red blend 2021 Cerro Basalto Mediterraneo was produced with a blend of Mediterranean grapes, Monastrell, Garnacha and Cariñena, and 5% Syrah, from four hectares planted in 2008 on granite and basalt soils. 2021 was a very cool vintage, and they wanted to keep that freshness so they used 20% full clusters in the Garnacha and Syrah and 50% uncrushed grapes for the native fermentations. The varieties matured separately, the Monastrell and Syrah in 400-liter barrels, the Garnacha in concrete egg and the Cariñena in 1,800-liter oak vat, for 12 months and then blended and matured for a further eight months in 5,100-liter oak foudres. It has good ripeness and 14.2% alcohol but with very good freshness and a pH of 3.48. It's a bit closed, but with time in the glass, it had an expressive nose that combines red with black fruit, dominated by Monastrell, spicy and aromatic with notes of thyme and rosemary. The palate is round, juicy and full-bodied, with abundant grainy tannins. A red for food.
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Vinous
The 2021 Cerro Basalto Mediterráneo hails from Los Lingues in the Colchagua Andes, and is a blend of Monastrel, Garnacha, Syrah and Cariñena - hence the name. The nose features sour cherry and cotton candy along with black pepper and mint. Dry and fairly lean. The easygoing flow and restrictive tannins produce a cleansing, mouthwatering palate.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
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.