Winemaker Notes
Deep ruby red with a violet hue, this highly aromatic wine has a predominance of black and blue berries on the nose with notes of jam and caramel. French oak lends complexity, a touch of vanilla and black pepper, and aromas of coffee and toffee, with just a hint of nutmeg at the end. The palate is smooth and well balanced with nicely rounded tannins. This is voluminous wine with a long finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Deeply colored and voluptuous, with a lush, spicy aroma and rich flavors of blackberry, blueberry and dark plum. Concentrated chocolate mousse notes emerge midpalate, leading to a cream-filled finish that ends with plenty of mocha accents. Drink now through 2021.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
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.