Winemaker Notes
Highly recommended with red meats, stir-fried beef and vegetables, pork chops, spaghetti with Bolognese sauce, lamb chops, and mushroom ravioli.
Blend: 90% Carmenère, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A dense and fruity red with dark chocolate and berry character. Full body, dusty tannins and a dusty texture at the end.
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Wine Spectator
Well-focused crushed red fruit flavors are supported by crisp acidity and medium-grained tannins. Dried green herbal notes linger on the minerally finish, with hints of white pepper.
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.
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.