Winemaker Notes
Complex aromas of raspberry and blackcurrant mix with notes of vanilla and subtle pepper, cedar and leather. The palate is fresh and elegant, with smooth tannins and a persistent finish.
Blend: 50% Carmenere, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Notes of plums and blackberries with chili and herbal undertones. Full-bodied with chewy tannins. Lively acidity for a juicy and structured mouth texture. Balanced and vibrant...Savory finish with length.
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Vinous
The 2018 Neyen is a 50/50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Carménère from a hundred-year-old vineyard in Apalta, Colchagua Valley, aged for 14 months in barrels and 6 months in foudres. Dark garnet red in the glass. The nose offers ripe red currant and plum, sweetbriar and hints of ash and cigar box. The palate is broad and voluminous, with a degree of grip and precise freshness that enhances the fruity flavors in the mouth. Rich and long-lasting, this vintage has left behind the oxidative style that formerly defined Neyen, freeing up the flavors.
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Wine Spectator
Refined, with an elegant entry of cocoa powder, chocolate cosmos and marinated olive, plus a tinge of eucalyptus that adds to the red currant and cherry core. Ends with polished tannins. Carmenere and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2028. 800 cases made, 140 cases imported.
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.