Winemaker Notes
Intense, ruby red with hints of purple. Complex aromas of strawberry, raspberry, plum and cassis mingle with hints of pepper and vanilla. A soft and elegant wine, with ripe tannins and low acidity. On the palate the fruit takes the main stage, with prominent flavors of raspberry and plum. The finish is long and persistent.
Blend: 55% Carmenere, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is so explosive with fruit, yet very reserved and vibrant at the same time, displaying black olives, tar, cedar, blackberries and spices. Full-bodied with super structured tannins and agile fruit, rounded off by mineral undertones. Drink in 2020
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Wine Spectator
Richly spiced, with concentrated cherry and red currant flavors that are fresh and pure-tasting. Green herbal accents show midpalate. The creamy finish is filled with chocolate mousse details. Carmenère and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2021. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
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.