Winemaker Notes
Color: Opulent, rich purple
Bouquet: Very spicy; notes of black and white pepper mingle with leather, clove and ripe black fruit supported by oak.
Taste: Full-bodied, harmonious and expressive. Mellow tannins and a structured mid-palate. Intense fruit leading to a long finish.
Serving suggestions: Red meats, poultry, rich stews, hearty pasta dishes and hard cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A ripe, juicy style, with lots of blackberry, briar and sweet spice notes that push through the medium-weight, nicely structured finish, where black tea and fruit echo. Drink now through 2010. 5,500 cases made.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2006 Syrah Antu Ninquen, sourced from a high elevation vineyard, was bottled without fining or filtration. Purple-colored, the nose offers up cedar, wood smoke, scorched earth, and blueberry aromas that jump from the glass. On the palate, it has attractive, savory flavors but is slightly compressed and tight. Give it 1-2 years to round out and drink it from 2010 to 2016.
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.”
Dramatic geographic and climatic changes from west to east make Chile an exciting frontier for wines of all styles. Chile’s entire western border is Pacific coastline, its center is composed of warm valleys and on its eastern border, are the soaring Andes Mountains.
Chile’s central valleys, sheltered by the costal ranges, and in some parts climbing the eastern slopes of the Andes, remain relatively warm and dry. The conditions are ideal for producing concentrated, full-bodied, aromatic reds rich in black and red fruits. The eponymous Aconcagua Valley—hot and dry—is home to intense red wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot.
The Maipo, Rapel, Curicó and Maule Valleys specialize in Cabernet and Bordeaux Blends as well as Carmenère, Chile’s unofficial signature grape.
Chilly breezes from the Antarctic Humboldt Current allow the coastal regions of Casablanca Valley and San Antonio Valley to focus on the cool climate loving varieties, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Chile’s Coquimbo region in the far north, containing the Elqui and Limari Valleys, historically focused solely on Pisco production. But here the minimal rainfall, intense sunlight and chilly ocean breezes allow success with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The up-and-coming southern regions of Bio Bio and Itata in the south make excellent Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Spanish settlers, Juan Jufre and Diego Garcia de Cáceres, most likely brought Vitis vinifera (Europe’s wine producing vine species) to the Central Valley of Chile sometime in the 1550s. One fun fact about Chile is that its natural geographical borders have allowed it to avoid phylloxera and as a result, vines are often planted on their own rootstock rather than grafted.