Winemaker Notes
The Maquis Cabernet Franc is grown in the Colchagua Valley. The wine is made from grapes grown on the Maquis estate, between the Chimbarongo Creek and the Tinguiririca River in central Colchagua Valley. These elements are ideal for producing Cabernet Franc grapes that are full and rich, yet display balance and elegance.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A pretty nose of savory tobacco leaf, plums and currants with hints of iron and earthiness. Medium-bodied with some white pepper and blood oranges on the palate. Tight and fine-grained with a long finish.
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Vinous
The 2019 Cabernet Franc Gran Reserva is 90% Cabernet Franc, 9% Carménère and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon from Palmilla, Colchagua, barrel-aged for 12 months. Garnet red in color, this is an expressive red with open aromas of black currant and ash along with twists of herb and pencil box. The compact flow is channeled and lent character by fine- grained, reactive tannins, and the finish is cleansing. Time in the bottle will smooth it out.
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Wine Enthusiast
Hints of nutmeg and herbs show in the delicate nose. The palate delivers spices and mild fruit flavors alongside slightly drying tannins and good acidity.
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.