Winemaker Notes
Certified Sustainable.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Cabernet Franc Limited Edition is blended with 6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot. The Cabernet Franc grapes come from eight-year-old vines in the estate vineyards. It fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts followed by malolactic in barrique and an élevage of 14 months in second and third use French oak barrels. It's peppery and spicy and also varietal, without excess in either direction. The palate is elegant and medium-bodied, with fine tannins and very good tension and freshness.
Cabernet Franc, a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon, is the subtler and more delicate of the Cabernets. Today Cabernet Franc produces outstanding single varietal wines across the wine-producing world. Somm Secret—One of California's best-kept secrets is the Happy Canyon appellation of Santa Barbara. Here Cabernet Franc shines as a single varietal wine or in blends, expressing sumptuous fruit, savory aromas and polished tannins.
The Maipo Valley is Chile’s most famous wine region. Set in the country’s Central Valley, it is warm and quite dry, often necessitating the use of irrigation. Alluvial soils predominate but are supplemented with loam and clay.
The climate in Maipo is best-suited for ripe, full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon (the region’s most widely planted grape), Merlot, Syrah and Carmenère, a Bordeaux variety that has found a successful home in Chile.
White wines are also produced with great prosperity, especially near the cooler coast, include Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.