Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
On the nose you could mistake this imposing, but finely-nuanced red for a top Bordeaux, were it not for the smoky notes. On the palate the chocolate, very ripe black fruits and a certain creaminess are very Chilean, but then at the long finish the elegant dry tannins come through and you think of Bordeaux again. Drink or hold.
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Decanter
The secret behind this sustainable wine – blended with 6% Cabernet Sauvignon – is the massal selection from century-old vines grown in black clay and gravel soils. The result is a refined balsamic character with hints of black cherry and a velvety palate. Drinking Window 2020 - 2023
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Again, the cooler vintage seems to have favored the 2013 Franco, which came through as complex, compact, powerful and elegant. This time it's not a pure varietal, as it contains some 6% Cabernet Sauvignon in the final blend. This is a Cabernet Franc all about finesse but with enough power and character. It's very floral and exuberant, very showy, a little riper than the Viola from this same year.
Cabernet Franc, a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon, is the subtler and more delicate of the Cabernets. Today Cabernet Franc produces outstanding single varietal wines across the wine-producing world. Somm Secret—One of California's best-kept secrets is the Happy Canyon appellation of Santa Barbara. Here Cabernet Franc shines as a single varietal wine or in blends, expressing sumptuous fruit, savory aromas and polished tannins.
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.